Despair unbound
by CadenGallic
Summary: The curse of despair has spread like wildfire. Faithwood academy, copycats to the success of Hope's peak academy, now holds 16 more beacons of hope for the future. To some, they are the future, the pioneers that will lead forth a better generation into the darkest future. To others, it just means the game of misery has begun once again.
1. Echoes of despair - Part 1

Danganronpa: Despair unbound

Prologue: Echoes of despair

Part 1

Hope's peak academy. Even if you didn't know the story of this school, the name alone should tell you about what kind of legacy this school happened. The government sanctioned school that accepted only the best of the best and gave them the perfect reference to take the best first step into the world of work that lay beyond the school. There was no doubt about it. Hope's peak academy was revered and known as possibly the greatest school in the country.

And with greatness, comes jealousy. Jealousy like the ripples in a pond after a particular white, smooth stone is dropped in. Long lasting ripples. Ripples strong enough they stirred the deepest and most abnormal of motives and plans.

With everything popular, there come the copycats. Those who wish to emulate the success and the popularity of the original, by trying to be just like them. One of these copycats was Faithwood academy. In an attempt to strike up the great name that Hope's peak had made for itself, Faithwood set out to do exactly what they had done and scouted for the best students in the country it could find. It was a shallow reflection of what Hope's peak had been, but it slowly gathered the resources and money it needed and pushed it's way into the public eye.

Faithwood boasted a more rustic appeal as opposed to Hope's peak's modern look. It was situated out in the countryside, nestled in the bosom of thickets of trees and bushes, with only a single winding road to lead back to society. From the outside, you'd be forgiven for mistaking it for some old European castle, plucked straight out of a fairytale, with it's tall red turret rooftops, it's grand columns and it's thick wall. The place was as close to the illustrations in children's books that you could get.

Now, it was visited by it's newest student, one of the new round brought in for the new year. It was the beginning of September, a slight chill whisking through the woods and circling its grand oaks and pines. A small red car pulled up to the gates of Faithwood academy, each seat taken up by an individual. The car pulled to a halt and the back left door opened, and out stepped the newest student.

His walnut brown fringe fluttered slightly in the chill of the month as he stepped out of the car and made for the boot. His turquoise blazer was neat and pressed the night before, protecting him from the cold which his plain white dress shirt would not. He opened up the back and took out his two suitcases, setting them on the ground and scanning the rest of the car boot with his crystal blue eyes to make sure he hadn't missed anything. A hand slipped into the fold's of his blazer, brushing across his white tie as he checked his pocket for his notebook. It was still there, thankfully.

"Have you got everything, dear?" His mother said, poking her head out of the window, a warm smile on her face. Her son turned back to her and returned the smile, nodding his head.

"Yes mom. I got everything." He assured her.

"Are you sure?" said his sister, also poking her head out of the window. "If you forget anything, you probably won't be seeing it for a while?" she teased. The son chuckled and smiled at her.

"I'm sure. Quit worrying." He assured them again, pointing to his case a few times to prove it. The family went back and forth with their conversation until the moment finally came, and the little red car sped back down the road.

"Bye Jinsei!" cried his sister from the window as she waved, the car shrinking into the distance. Jinsei returned her wave as a small sigh escaped his lips. There they went.

Jinsei Gushiken had never heard of Faithwood before a few weeks ago. The invitation had just shown up in through his door, inviting him for his prowess in the field of psychology, calling him the "Super high school level psychiatrist." Jinsei had never personally put much stock into the title. He didn't like to be boastful about his talents.

But it was undeniable he was something special. Having initially used his study of the subject to help his sister get over a bout of extreme depression, he had used his talent in his old school to talk other students through their problems. Word had gotten out about it, and some researcher had spotted him in the act and invited him to the academy.

Even now, Jinsei could remember talking the letter over with his family. How thrilled they'd been. The very thought that their son would be attending such a prestigious academy was a shock and a reason for celebration. A memorable morning indeed…

The slight crunch of gravel echoed around the forest as Jinsei advanced up the path, into the academy's front garden, the large walls looming behind him as he passed through the gate. He was soon approaching the front door, double wooden doors that were flung wide open for his arrival. Ahead of him, he could see the halls. Jinsei paused briefly before he stepped across the threshold.

This is it, he thought to himself. His first step into his new life of academics at this mysterious castle of an academy. One fateful step, that would change his life forever.

…those words would turn out to be more haunting then jinsei could have ever considered.

When Jinsei awoke, he felt stiff. His eyes fluttered open, breaking the crust of a long night's sleep. His head laid uncomfortably atop a wooden desk, hardly a welcome replacement for a pillow. His arms were folded in front of his head. His lips were dry and he felt an unsettling pain in his stomach. The air around him was silent and still. Deathly still.

He gradually sat up and stretched his arms above him. His eyes grew accustomed to the odd lighting in the room. It was lit, but it was still quite dank. His head slowly turned as he observed the room around him. The desk he sat at was a school desk, one sitting amongst the ranks of 15 others, arranged in rows of five. At the head of the room he saw a blackboard, freshly cleaned. A clock ticked away on the left wall and a single door was situated on the left of the blackboard. It was pretty easy to deduce that he was sitting in a classroom. How he'd gotten there and why he'd fallen asleep was a mystery.

Thinking quickly, he slipped his hand into his blazer and slipped out his notebook, flipping it open. The pages were blank. No help there, it seemed.

"Hello?" he called out to the room around him, wondering if there was anyone around. He got no reply. He was alone. His eyes then spotted something on the front desk. Jinsei slowly rose to his feet and plucked it from the wooden desk. It was an envelope, addressed to him too. Cocking an eyebrow, he opened it up and slipped out the contents, namely a small note addressed to him.

"Welcome ceremony starts at 8 in the gym. Don't be late." The note had no signature. Instinctively, Jinsei flicked his gaze over to the clock. The time was now 7:55. He flinched slightly. He couldn't be late on his first day! He quickly made for the door, choosing not to question things when his answers could be waiting in the gym. He flung the door open and stepped out into the corridor.

The corridor stretched out further on Jinsei's right than his left. He made for the right and spotted a door down the hall with a basketball symbol on the door. Figuring that was the closest thing to the gym, Jinsei flung open the door.

And the sight he was greeted with was the strangest he had seen in a long time. Gathered in the wood paneled hall, 13 other individuals were standing around and talking to one another. While it was a comforting thought to know he wasn't indeed alone in this place, his eyes overflowed with just how amazingly different these 13 individuals were. Most of them turned to look at him, male and female alike.

"Well hey, there's another one." A male student said, scanning over Jinsei's form.

"You're all at this school too then?" Jinsei inquired. Quickly deducing these others must be the super duper highschoolers he had heard about. It was true, only the best were scouted for this academy, but looking around through the 13 faces, Jinsei couldn't help but doubt how trustworthy that information was.

"Yep." Agreed a red headed girl. "Guess that makes 14 in total…"

"Ugh!" exclaimed a grey haired boy, adjusting the brown and white cap he bore on his head. "You got time to bore us with simple maths? Besides, there's supposed to be 15 of us." He stated matter of factly, crossing his arms in a huff.

"Well… my name's Jinsei. I didn't get here too late, did I?" he inquired further, wanting to get some sense out of the situation.

"Nothing's happened yet, so probably not!" piped up a girl with black hair, yellowed spikes poking out form behind her head like sunflower petals, a beaming smile on her face.

"Seeing as we're all waiting." Interrupted a brown haired boy "I say we all make ourselves known! A company of actors must know their roles after all." A general murmur of agreement went through the group. Jinsei also agreed with a slight nod. Better to know everyone now seeing as they'd all be working together.

"I'll go first." Announced a broad chested boy, pushing his way through to the front of the group so that he could address all of them. His brown hair was curled around his head in an old fashioned manner, his clothes even seemed of rich descent with it's gold buttons, powder blue waistcoat and pocket watch poking out of his top pocket. "You all may have the great pleasure of meeting with myself, the esteemed Taro Bariton, Super duper high school tenor." He boasted in a particularly loud voice, taking a moment to adjust the musical note pins on his collar and sleeves.

"Esteemed? I've never heard of you…" interrupted a blonde haired girl, clinging onto a rather large book, which she opened up and flicked through as she spoke. Taro turned on her and made a loud 'harumph' noise.

"Surely you just! My perfect singing voice has been heard worldwide!" he shouted pompously as the girl shrank back. Jinsei didn't care much for the guy's attitude, but being a world renowned singer wasn't something to sneeze at after all.

"S-sorry…" the blonde girl murmured as she wrote the name down in her book, writing at a shockingly fast pace.

"Be calm now, citizen. We are all virtuous beings here!" proclaimed a particularly odd fellow as he stepped forth. He was dressed from head to toe in a blue spandex costume, complete with grey and white boots, gauntlets and a helmet obscuring his face with a black visor and a silver mouth plate. His helmet was adorned with a black ringed planet symbol to boot. Jinsei couldn't help but feel somewhat embarrassed to be in the same room as this odd figure. "For I am, Cosmic Man! Super duper high school level hero! Veritable warrior of good and truth!" he boasted, shouting out even louder than Taro had.

Jinsei thought a moment. He HAD heard a rumor back at his old school about a costumed vigilante going around and stopping crime, but at the time it had made no sense at all to him. But, apparently, it was true. That fact worried him slightly. But if this 'Cosmic man' had truly saved lives, he couldn't be too bad, right?

"Wow... t-t-that's so cool…" said a girl near the back, bundled up in a heavy orange snow coat, ski goggles perched above her eyes as she seemed to be shaking somewhat. Jinsei wondered if she was just nervous.

"Real heroes don't go around in dumb outfits." The red head girl cut in, seemingly unimpressed by Cosmic Man's entrance. "Name's Akari Himura, Super duper high school firefighter. One of the real heroes." She stated that more matter of factly than as a boast, patting down her navy blue jacket somewhat, covering her black tank top covered chest as her skirt fluttered slightly. She was surprisingly well built, nothing on the terms of extremely muscular, but there was some clear strength hiding there, Jinsei commented in his head.

"I know you! You saved that family from that house fire!" cried the sunflower haired girl, staring in awe at the firefighter, who just shrugged and chuckled slightly.

"I only did what was right." She added, as both Taro and Cosmic Man remained unimpressed, even as she captured the attention of the black and blonde haired girl. "Now, how about you go next?" Akari added, pointing to the girl.

"Uhhh well, ok!" she struck something of a cute pose and smiled. "Call me Hanako Tsubaki, Super duper high school level botanist!" She said with a flourish, even doing a little spin as her green skirt bounced slightly, the sunflower patterns over her dress oddly bright. "I hope we can all be good friends and share flowers!" she giggled slightly. It was hard not to find her cute, Jinsei noted.

"Botanist? Really?" muttered the grey haired boy in the cap. "They let people into this school just for flower arranging? God I'm surrounded by zeroes!" he complained audibly, earning him a glare or two from the group as Hanako looked down embarrassed.

"W-well it's not just flowers… it's gardening in general really…" she added nervously. What a frail creature she was, Jinsei noted. He also took heed that she was the shortest person in the group.

"Well, I guess I'll go next." Said another boy in a white jacket, long enough that it reached his hips. His hair had an odd style of being raven black with white horizontal stripes running through it. "Im Haruo Mori, I guess. Suppose I'm a super duper high school level Alchemist." He admitted as his left hand scratched the back of his head, giving an awkward smile. "Nice to meet you all."

"Alchemy eh? That's not a normal talent you see every day." Noted another boy, tipping his Stetson slightly. His accent made it clear to Jinsei that he was not born Japanese. Haruo turned to him and smiled, almost nervously. He even seemed to blush slightly.

"Well, thank you."he said, chuckling through his teeth, scratching the back of his head again.

"My name is Gina, Gina Muto." Said another female student, stepping forward into the group . Her stance was strong, her navy robes consisting of a kendoki and hakama, a sheath at her belt with acurious looking handle poking out of it. Her hair was brown, died black as it stretched further down her back, reaching her mid back. "Super duper high school level kendoka." She added.

"A swordsman?" Akari asked, looking a little closer at Gina. "I wouldn't have taken you for a warrior…" she noted, looking over Gina as she returned her look, adjusting the cloth around her head slightly.

"Indeed. I am a samurai of our modern day." She assured, nodding solemnly. Cosmic Man seemed to take some offense to that as he turned away at the sound of it. The girl in the orange snowsuit was next to introduce herself as she continued to shake and shudder.

"I-I-I'm the S-super d-duper high sc-school level sk-sk-skier, Furost-st-stomi Yuk-k-kimura." She managed to get out at last through all her shaking.

"Uh Furostomi… are you nervous?" Jinsei inquired, which was easy to say when she was shaking so much. The girl raised her mitten covered hands and shook them, grinning as if she were embarrassed.

"N-no! N-not at all! I'm j-j-just really c-cold…" she assured them, rubbing her arms slightly. Jinsei did notice her skin was quite pale. But it certainly didn't feel terribly cold to him, so how could she be so cold?

"So, what about you?" Akari turned toward the Stetson wearing boy. "You're not born Japanese are you? So what did you get in for?" The student smiled and tilted his hat slightly, a thin smile forming under his cunning brown eyes.

"Through implication, you say foreigners shouldn't be allowed into schools in this country? How rude." He chuckled slightly as if he'd cracked a joke. "For the sake of my handle, it's Kasper Jones, Super duper high school hunter." Jinsei's eyebrows shot up. Hunter? What exactly would this school do with bringing a HUNTER in? Surely that couldn't be the safest thing amongst high schoolers.

"I meant no such thing!" Akari insisted with a glare. The hunter waved his hand slightly.

"Of course you didn't. But it came out anyway. I say we move on" The hunter quickly moved the conversation onward.

"Perhaps, I can interject an introduction next?" Another female student standing near the back of the group beside some blue haired student stepped forward next. Jinsei's eyes once again had to check twice to make sure what he was seeing was indeed, real. Her face was simple enough and her hair was sweet and black, but her outfit was that of a traditional maid's, the black dress and skirt, the white apron and bows and lace and everything. Her stockings were striped black and white too. The rest of the group turned to look upon her, sharing Jinsei's reaction.

"So… would you happen to be a…" began Taro, scratching his chin slightly as he seemed a bit embarrassed to say it.

"Yes sir. Super duper high school level maid, Yayoi Rokujou sir." She kept a pleasant smile on her face and her voice never wavered from it's polite tone. It was somewhat eerie to Jinsei.

"Maid? Freaking maid? Are you kidding me?! Who's picked up on this nonsensical crap?!" exclaimed the cap wearing student, curling his lip as he stared down the maid. "Are the faculty's brains fractioned for fuck's sake?!"

"Well, what exactly are you here for then?" Gina interrupted, folding her arms and looking impatiently at the cap wearing student, who turned to her with a smirk.

"I just so happen to be a super duper high school level mathematician, capable of reciting pi backwards and spitting equations like bullets, missy." He boasted, a slight irritating hiss in his voice. "Daisuke Mikami, don't go forgetting it." The rest of the group were somewhat underwhelmed despite Daisuke's little performance.

"Right… well, friends, I say these introductions are going well, and now it is time for mine!" Declared the brown haired boy from earlier, his coat swishing somewhat as he stepped forward. Jinsei noticed the inside of the coat was red, his trousers were oddly striped green and brown going diagonally up, above a grey shirt with some form of black logo hidden beneath his coat. "I doth present, Yakusha Kuronin, Super duper high school level actor!" he declared with a flourish and a slight spin, as he suddenly produced something large, white and rounded from behind his back, which he rested on his hand. "And this, my comrades, is Yorick."

"Holy shit he's a killer!" cried out Daisuke, leaping back from Yakusha as the white object looked like a human skull. The rest of the group seemed taken aback as Yakusha looked to his item, then chuckling.

"No no, relax my friends! Yorick is mere plastic, see?" he knocked on the skull a few times, a hollow thud ringing out, proving it was indeed true.

"Yeesh… morbid." Kasper noted, biting his thumbnail as he looked upon the actor's prop. Jinsei turned back to the blonde girl who was still scribbling in her book. She'd been pretty quiet, but had been diligently writing something all this time. It made him curious.

"What about you?" He asked her as her head peered up from the pages slightly.

"You mean me?" she was pretty averagely dressed, brown cardigan over a white shirt, skirt to match with a red tie. The one big difference was her book bag slung over her shoulder, big enough to carry that book she wrote in and made of red leather. "Well, I'm Cho Manaki, Super duper high school archivist… I think." She flipped back to her book's contents page and checked it. "…yeah, I'm the archivist."

"Do you have amnesia or something?" Asked Kasper, cocking an eyebrow at her. Cho clutched her book a little tighter.

"Uh yeah… sorry." She admitted embarrassedly, looking away from the group.

"A tragic affliction indeed!" butted in Cosmic Man, striking another over the top pose. "Do not fear! If you should forget something, I shall remind you!" Cho looked at the shouty hero for a moment before she dropped a bombshell.

"Who are you again?" and with that, Cosmic Man fell backwards, falling deathly ill. The group turned towards the last person who remained unidentified, a girl standing in the corner with light blue hair, dressed in denim overalls with some kind of leather sling over her back. She was swiping at the floor with a mop. Was she a member of staff, Jinsei wondered.

"What about you? Who're you?" Asked Taro, peering at her. The girl turned around and frowned slightly, eyeing them with an odd discontent.

"I'm just the cleaner. You've all been ignoring me, why stop now?" she said snippily, before returning to her work. Taro was taken aback as he stepped backward.

"Ugh! The nerve!" He scoffed as he decided to follow her advice and continue ignoring her. Jinsei stepped forward to remedy the situation.

"Please, we only asked your name." he said politely. The cleaner sighed and turned back to him.

"Fine. It's Kiyonari Mizu, super duper high school janitor." She stated flatly, turning her back to them once again. "Now please, let me work." And she went back to peacefully swiping her mop over the floor. The group decided to continue without her.

"Well." Began Akari, looking over the group's members. "I think that means we've heard from everyo-"

"Not late!" came a shout from in the hall as they heard the pounding of incoming feet. "Not late not late not late not late!" the boy continued to shout as he ran toward the door and skidded straight past it. Jinsei heard a loud crash as the boy had apparently collided with something down the hall. A few moments later, he ran back in, panting slightly.

"I'm here! And I'm not late!" he announced triumphantly, pumping his fist into the air.

"Actually, you kinda are." Pointed out Haruo, gesturing to his watch which read 8:13. The boy frowned.

"Damnit… well, what did I miss?" he asked, getting back up to standing level.

"Nothing, actually. No-one's shown up to greet us." Gina added.

"Indeed… most perculiar." Ruminated Yakusha, scratching his chin slightly.

"Well, since I'm here, might as well introduce myself!" the newcomer said quickly, grinning widely. "Name's Shou Saitou, super duper high school runner, fastest of the lot!" he boasted. His clothes were much lighter than the rest of the group, a red and red short sleeve gym shirt and some red and white shorts that seemed uncomfortably tight.

"So now we're 15, eh?" Kasper noted.

"Yeah, like I said earlier. You lot are more dense than a set of irrationals." Daisuke muttered, relaxing against the wall behind him. He received a few glares from the group.

"Coming back to what Shou said." Kasper continued, ignoring Daisuke entirely. "I wonder why we've not had our welcome yet."

"M-m-maybe t-t-they've b-b-been held-d-d up?" quivered Furostomi from behind him.

"What time were they supposed to be here by again?" Chimed in Cho after flipping through her book's pages.

"If they'd been held up, why would they hold the ceremony at this time?"interjected Taro, once again talking too loudly for his own good.

"It just doesn't make sense." Agreed Gina, shaking her head. "Surely, they must-"

She didn't get any further. A noise cut her off mid sentence. At first, it was just a crackle of static that echoed up and down the gym, drawing their attention to the speakers situated in the corners of the room. The crackle eventually stopped as a voice spoke through them. A voice that spoke through the PA system, a single noise that echoed throughout the gym. A noise that would strike fear into those that knew it's origin. A noise that would soon inspire fear in all of them too. A noise that foreshadowed a high school life of terror and anguish.

"Upupupupupupu~"


	2. Echoes of despair - Part 2

Danganronpa: Despair unbound

Prologue: Echoes of despair

Part 2

The attention of the 16 students was drawn toward the stage. Wooden, constructed quite cheaply, a raised podium sitting in the center bearing a microphone and a small glass of water with the Faithwood crest strung above it on a red banner, emblazoned in white, the group turned as they heard the odd chuckle from the stage's direction. Chairs had been set up, but none bothered to take the offer to sit.

"Well, now that you're all here, let's get started!" it cried out as a few moments of suspense followed it's voice alerting the group. And then, from behind the podium, a black and white blur popped into the air, flapped it's arms for a moment and then came to a rest atop the podium, making it wobble slightly before all was still. The thing that now faced them appeared to be a small toy bear, about one third of the average person's height. It's fur was black and white, split perfectly down the middle in a line, aside from it's stomach and oddly protruding belly button which was just white. It's face was a touch unnerving, one side being a simple smiling bear's face, while the other side bore a much larger, toothy grin, with an oddly shaped red eye.

"A… stuffed animal?" queried Hanako, scratching her head.

"Who're you calling stuffed?!" shouted a voice from the bear as it suddenly sprung to it's feet in an oddly animatic fashion. "I'm Monokuma! Your new headmaster, and of Faithwood academy!"

One by one, the group turned to one another, pinched their arms or blinked in rapid succession to confirm, what they were seeing was indeed real. A stuffed, black and white bear had just stood up on it's own and talked to them. Jinsei especially found himself dumbfounded by what he was seeing.

"It's so nice to meet you all!" it announced, leaping up and down excitedly. It was oddly jovial for it's creepy demeanor, Jinsei noted, rubbing his chin.

"T-t-that thing is talking!" shouted out Taro, pointing a quivering finger at the bear.

"Be at ease, citizen!" Cosmic Man quickly interrupted, puffing out his chest and showing no fear, despite his knees shaking somewhat. "It must simply be some form of special effects trickery! Hollywood stuff!" The irony was apparently lost to the spandex bound hero.

"You will take me seriously!" Monokuma stamped it's foot, or paw on the podium, making it shake again. "I am your headmaster, not some hologram of childish toy!" it shouted, shaking it's fist at the crowd somewhat. "Movie special effects can only dream of BEARLY being as good as me!" he taunted, puffing his chest out a bit. The crowd groaned.

"I've seen preschoolers act better…" muttered Yakusha near the back of the crowd. The bear seemed to miss is comment, or just flat out didn't care.

"Anyway! Let's start this opening ceremony for real now! I'll start with a few words about your new lives at Faithwood." Monkuma continued, tucking his hands behind his back and standing proudly, as if he were a congressman about to address his subordinates. "You guys represent the best of the best, a collection of the world's finest high schoolers! You're all precious booty, you know that?" he began, swaying somewhat on his feet. "In fact, you're so precious, you need to be kept safe, hence why you will now be living inside the academy walls!" This wasn't new to most. They have considered that the academy was so remote, they'd have rooms to stay in. Jinsei remembered reading it on the brochure that came with his invitation too.

"While you're here, this academy is your kingdom! Do what you want, live harmoniously, work hard, it's your choice!" the bear boasted, plodding across the stand as he spoke. "The one thing I should mention though is, there's no time limit to this stay. " That brought the tone down on the room somewhat.

"Wait, whaddya mean by that?!" shouted Shou, leaping up from behind the crowd the get a better look.

"Weeeeell to put it simply." The bear continued. "You guys will be living the rest of your lives here!" And with that, the ball dropped. Brows furrowed, mouths hang agape, fists clenched. Not easy news to swallow.

"Our… whole l-l-lives?" piped up Furostomi near the front, clutching her arms.

"Yup!" shouted Monokuma. "No worries, our budget's fat so comfort's no issue!."

"You know that's not our problem you dense zero!" Daisuke belted out, pointing at Monokuma.

"We can't live here forever! People will notice us!" Akari added, her hair flicking about almost like a lit raging fire.

"Oh is that so?" Monokuma leered over the crowd from the podium. "Shame this place is completely cut off from the outside world. Fraid no-one's gonna come looking, so put it out of your heads and enjoy your high school lives!" The crowd were not satisfied.

"How can this whole school be behind this?! This is ridiculous!" Daisuke shouted out again, teeth gritting.

"Indeed… unless this thing is hiding more than it's saying." Gina agreed, folding her arms and glaring at the bear.

"Oooohhh you guys are just so suspicious! I-it's actually kinda creepy!" The bear shook a little bit, holding it's sides. "Well, I'm telling the whole truth! Nothing but the truth! And even if you don't believe me, that's fact and no mistake." He continued.

"Bullshit!" rebuked Daisuke again, grinding his teeth together like some kind of twisted rock crusher.

"You can't just keep us here! W-we're not prisoners!" cried Hanako, eyes on the verge of bursting like a dam.

"Well, it's not like there isn't a way to leave or anything," Monokuma countered, surprising everyone again. He seemed to chuckle some more, holding his stubby paws to his face.

"So, what is this system?" inquired Kasper, peering at the bear curiously.

"It's quite simple really!" Monokuma shouted gleefully, bouncing up and down slightly. "All you have to do is destroy the order and peace that you guys will try to maintain here!" That gave them nothing to work with. "Or if you need it even more simply… murder."

The silence in the room hung like a dead weight as the simple word that carried so much weight, spread out amongst the high schoolers.

"Do it any way you want! Stab em, smack em, burn em, saw em, slash em, dash em, smash em, mash em, hell explode them, I don't care so long as you kill someone! And once you do, you'll have your chance to leave!" the bear tottered back and forth, grinning with glee.

Jinsei felt a cold sweat forming on his head as he became aware of just how large this crowd was… and with this new information, would any of them take it seriously? Could they do that? The human mind was capable of so much during a panic, he himself knew that… and that fact scared him even as he looked at the other student's reactions to this 'rule' in place. The question that hung in his mind now was… would any of them take it seriously?

"You m-must be joking…" Haruo stuttered as the idea of murder seemed alien to him.

"I might joke around a lot." Admitted Monokuma, swaying slightly. "But I'm BEARY serious about this! The only way any of you are getting out is by killing someone in this room!." It was then that a particular spandex suited figure began again, pointing at the bear.

"Cease these vile shenanigans you cursed cuddly toy! There will be no murder here today! Release us at once or suffer the wrath of justice!" he threatened, striking another pose as his voice rung out clear. The bear tilted it's head slightly and leered, it's red eye glowing slightly.

"Shenanigans? You think I'm STILL joking?! I just said I'm serious about all this, can't any of you idiots get that?!" the bear hopped about angrily, steam pouring out of his ears. But Cosmic Man had gone through enough as he suddenly made his way through the crowd and leapt up onstage, scooping up the bear in a hand and holding it up at arms length.

"I said desist, at once foul villain! Lest you suffer the power of Cosmic Man!" The bear flapped it's arms ineffectively as it was held by the neck.

"A-acts of violence against the principal are forbidden!" it stuttered slightly as it seemed to be capable of registering fear. "Rule breakers will be reprimanded!" the bear suddenly leaned out it's paw and tapped it to Cosmic Man's neck. The bear suddenly sparked as a jolt of electricity shot into the spandex suited hero, causing him to jitter and shake as he dropped the bear. The hero retreaded backward, static running up and down his suit.

"W-what'd you d-do you him?!" Taro cried out in shock of what they'd seen, as Yakusha rushed over to help the hurt hero.

"I tasered him! Did you miss that?!" the bear laughed slightly, showing it's grin of jagged teeth. "Attack me again and I'll double the voltage, got that? We shouldn't have any more incidents now, yes?" he acted condescendingly, leaning over the podium to gleefully leer at the bamboozled crowd. "Don't think I won't be watching you little bastards. There are cameras everywhere, so I WILL know when you break the rules, so be on your BEARY best behavior!"

To confirm this, Jinsei happened to turn and check the topcorner of the gym. Indeed, a camera watched on silently, encased in a glass box to prevent any vandalism too. He flinched slightly, now knowing his whole life may be monitored and he had only now noticed…

"Oh, also, once we're more or less done here, go to the information desk to collect your IDs and room keys. You're gonna need them as long as you're staying here! Don't go taking the wrong one now either, you hear?" the bear went on, hopping up and down happily. "So, that about wraps up this ceremony. I hope you all enjoy your new, despair riddled high school lives of mutual killing!" and with a hop into the air combined with a double somersault, the bear dropped behind the podium and was gone.

The crowd were left with nothing but themselves and this new information to digest. A high school life of mutual killing with murder as your only escape, surrounded by people you couldn't be sure to trust or not… even now, Jinsei could spot suspicious looks flit between the eyes of the super duper high schoolers.

"Now is truly the winter of our discontent…" Yakusha finally broke the silence, clutching Yorick to his chest.

"What an interesting little trap this is… primed and rigged with bait." The hunter added, stroking his chin, seeming far more amused by this prospect than scared.

"Will both of you fucking acute brains shut up?!" Daisuke yelled, fists clenched tightly.

"V…vile monster…" Cosmic man muttered as he held his shoulder, the fabric of his outfit singed somewhat from the electric shock.

"Sirs, madams, I recommend we remain calm." Oddly enough, Yayoi was the one to speak up, keeping an oddly calm demeanour even as everyone around her was scared. "Panic in this situation is bad for the digestive system." She added curtly.

"I think we have reason enough to panic…" murmured Akari, having noticeably drawn back from the rest of the group. "But she's right. It won't do us any good." She took a deep breath as the group's atmosphere seemed to gravitate to a more neutral setting, with only a few members of the group maintaining their emotional state. Jinsei could still catch their suspicious looks being traded amongst the members of the group. The real question that hung on their minds now was… would any of their number take this seriously?

"A-a-are… w-we r-r-really lock-k-ked in here?" Furostomi managed even as she seemed to be shivering more than normal. The group pondered this for a moment, before someone spoke up.

"Aha! I have an idea!" Shou shouted, pumping his fist into the air with pride. All eyes were on him now. "This place had a wall around it! And a gate! That might be our ticket out!" And with that, practically leaping off the ground like a cartoon character, Shou raced out of the door and off into the corridor.

"Shou, wait!" Jinsei shouted and decided to give chase. God knows what this academy could hold for them, running off on your own was NOT a good idea right now. Unfortunately, the super duper high school runner lived up to his name as Jinsei could only catch quick shadows of him in the corridors as he ran on ahead of them.

The blazing trail left behind by the runner eventually led them back to the information desk. A box had been left atop it, but for now they chose to ignore it and instead head outside as, shockingly, the front door wasn't locked. Piling out into the garden, they came out into the front gardens, the heavy Iron Gate situated in the only hole in the wall… the gate was now locked up tight, a heavy padlock situated in the center with chains running through it and around the gate. The wall had also been topped with a row of solid looking spikes. The group found Shou staring up at the wall intently.

"Damn… should've guessed it'd be locked…" Gina mumbled as they approached it. Shou however, had yet to be deterred, as he turned back to face the group.

"Come on guys, this is no problem! If we stack up, we can help each other over this wall no problem! Piece of cake I tell you!" The whole group had suddenly fallen deathly silent as a shadow swept over Shou, their gazes fixed on something behind him. No, not something… someone.

"Uh guys? What'sa matta?" Shou asked, clueless. A large finger poked his left shoulder as he turned around, shrieked, and fell over himself to back up and rejoin the group.

The figure that had appeared behind them was quite a monstrous one, his stature was large and muscular, easily taller than even the tallest student in the group. His build was muscular, arms like tree trunks and legs that could probably stomp a car wheel flat. His shoulders bore heavy looking metal shoulder pads, connected to some kind of large pack on his back, connected by metal tubes. On his chest there hung some kind of TV monitor, suspended just below his chest and hanging around his stomach area. His legs were bare aside from some grey shorts and some heavy iron boots. His face was hidden by a white and black mask, covering his mouth, nose and only showing his eyes with a red outlining around the one on the black side.

What really drew the group's attention was the man's left arm. It was normal up to his forearm, but then it was encased in a large silver gauntlet, ending in a long three pronged claw, it's very appearance was unsettling and it looked fairly heavy. He loomed over the crowd as he looked down on them, silently watching them. The monitor on his chest suddenly flickered into life as the familiar face of Monokuma appeared before them.

"Oh, I guess I must've forgotten to introduce you to my assistant, didn't I?" the bear admitted sheepishly, rubbing the back of it's head slightly. "Guys, this is Arkus. He'll be your grounds keeper, security guard, prefect and backup muscle wherever necersary!" he said cheerfully, mismatched to Arkus' sheer size and cyborg look.

"Why… why is he here?" Jinsei dared to ask, finding it hard not to feel intimidated by this looming mass of muscle and metal.

"Quite simply, to make sure you bastards behave yourselves!" Monokuma laughed, pointing out at them from the inside of the screen of his mobile giant.

"What do you mean?" Hanako queried, still not quite grasping it.

"Alright, let me put it simply. If any of you try to escape or break a rule, Arkus will be there to dole out punishment in my absence. Clear now?" It was clear all right… but the very idea this monster would be walking around campus was more than unsettling. It was outright threatening. But Shou still wasn't quite ready to back down.

"He might be big, but he's not as fast as me!" he taunted as he quickly ran for the wall, in an attempt to climb it and make a bid for freedom. He made it about three steps up the wall when Monokuma's cyborg leapt into action, spinning on the spot and leaping at him, opening that mechanical claw wide and snatching up Shou by the waist, plucking him off of the wall akin to peeling a post it note off of a wall. Shou yelped as the pressure of the claws sunk in, as the giant was able to keep him held aloft with just the one hand. On the monitor, Monokuma began to laugh at the runner's misfortune.

"Upupupupupu~ You see what I mean now? I'll let you off one last time, but next time you try something so stupid… Arkus will snap you like a twig!" he cackled with mad glee as the giant released the squirming Shou, who flopped on the ground as gasped for breath, the sheer pressure exerted from the giant's mechanical gauntlet had knocked the breath clean out of him. He scuttled back over to the group and shakily rose to his feet.

"Well? Don't you all have somewhere to be now? Run along!" cackled Monokuma again as his screen switched off and they were left with just staring at the giant, who remained motionless, still, as if he had never even moved.

One by one, the group filed back inside, turning over this information in their heads. This really was a prison now. They had walls, bars, a guard and a warden. No way out. No contact. No hope of escape, except through murder… an offer that was becoming more tantalizing by the second.

Jinsei held his arms slightly as he tried to remain calm, rational. He was a psychiatrist, remaining rational and thinking straight was all he had during situations like this. All around him, he could be surrounded by killers, victims or both. What would become of him? Would their new life of mutual murder begin peacefully or be shattered with the spilling of blood.

Now, only time would tell.


	3. Live slow die fast - Day 1

Danganronpa: Despair unbound

Chapter 1: Live slow die fast

Day 1

(Faithwood Academy – Information desk – Day 01 – 9:00AM)

Once the incident in the gardens was over, the fifteen super duper high school students gathered in the lobby to converse. Kasper took the honor of opening up the box left on the desk, which had even been wrapped up like a birthday present with a cyan bow. Unwrapping it, inside they found a collection of small items. First, there were fifteen gold badges, each one bearing the Faithwood academy symbol and name. Mandatory for all students, apparently.

There were also a collection of small phone like devices, each bearing a screen that lit up and showed the face of one of the fifteen students. They handed them out to one another and fiddled around with them a bit. Shou happened to drop his upon being handed it, but amazingly the screen didn't crack. The device seemed durable at least.

Finally, there was fifteen keys, each one once again bearing a student's face on it's ring as well as an individual key for their rooms. The rooms were located down a short hallway behind the information desk, with two separate wings, one for the girls rooms and one for the boys rooms.

As Jinsei flicked through the controls of the electro ID, he noted a couple of things. First, the electro ID's had a list of the rules around the school. The rules were listed for convenience.

**1. The students will live a communal lifestyle with no time limit inside the school walls.**

**2. The time between 10pm and 7am is called "Night Time". During Night Time there are places that are forbidden to enter, so please take care.**

**3. Sleeping is only permitted in the personal rooms prepared for you in the dormitory area. Anyone intentionally falling asleep elsewhere will be punished.**

**4. You may investigate the school as you please. There are no special restrictions on your actions.**

**5. No violence is permitted against the school's headmaster, Monokuma or Arkus. Destruction or covering of the surveillance cameras is forbidden.**

**6. A "culprit" who kills a fellow student will graduate the school. However, they must not let any other student know they are the culprit.**

**7. Additional rules may be added by the school at any time.**

Jinsei couldn't help but feel a little nauseous looking at the rules. Especially rule 6. The fact that killing a student was in the rules just made all this feel even more twisted.

"Grrgh… I can't believe this shit…" grumbled Akari, squeezing her electro ID slightly. "It just… it can't be real."

"Best to accept it now." Kiyonari added, seeming oddly unfazed by everything that had happened thus far. "Whining won't make any difference." Akari twitched slightly at her words.

"You're asking for a punch!" she threatened, glaring at Kiyonari.

"Citizens!" Intervened Cosmic Man. "Fighting is not our answer here! We must not deviate as a group!" He assured them, looking toward Akari who only seemed more enraged at the ridiculously suited man telling her what to do.

"He has a point, madam. In a time like this, it's best if we give no-one a reason to commit any sort of violent act toward another." Yayoi added, patting Akari's shoulder.

"So… what do we do now?" Haruo asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Well, we could always search the school. Rules say that's legal." Pointed out Taro, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Know your environment… a good idea." Kasper agreed, hiding a private smile. "If you're looking to trap someone."

"I-I never!" rebuked Taro quickly, seeming quite flustered. Kasper chuckled slightly.

"Just a joke my friend… just a joke." He continued, cocking an eyebrow with a slight grin, as Haruo seemed to be watching him intently.

"J-j-joking aside… l-lets g-g-get look-k-king…" Furostomi added meekly, still hugging herself through her coat. Cho's scribbling accompanied their entire conversation.

"We'll cover more ground if we split up. I recommend groups of three, just so no-one gets tempted." Advised Kasper, another flash of a smile as he looked at Taro, who grew quite hot under his collar.

"I'll go with Kasper." Haruo quickly said, sidling up to the hunter. Jinsei cocked an eyebrow, as did Kasper.

"Um, why?" Kasper asked.

"I just want to, no need to make a big deal out of it." Haruo scratched his head and turned away from him.

"I'll go with!" announced Shou, bounding over to their sides, seemingly recovering from his encounter with the cyborg guard. The group didn't bother to question it.

"Akari, I would like to search with you." Gina said, looking to the firefighter for approval. She nodded with a slight smile.

"Sure." Akari agreed with a simple nod. "Daisuke, you come too."

"Fine… bunch of minuses." He grumbled as he stood beside the other two.

"I uh… I wanna go with Cosmic Man." Peeped up Hanako as she stepped beside the blue suited hero, joined by Furostomi who remained silent. The hero struck a pose.

"Fear not good citizens, Cosmic Man will protect you on our perilous trek through this accursed academy!" he boasted.

"We're only going for a walk around, show off…" grumbled Taro, folding his arms. Yakusha stepped in to remedy the situation.

"How now fellows, we must make haste! What say you, Yorick?" he turned to the plastic skull balanced in his fingers as he operated the jaw as if the skull were talking. "I say we go with Taro!" the skull replied, as Yakusha nodded in agreement. "Excellent idea! Two performers together, brilliance!" as he stood beside a scowling Taro. Cho meekly joined their little triad, still writing everything down in her notebook.

Jinsei looked around the group; now realizing he'd been left with the maid and the janitor. Not exactly his first choices, but he'd make do with what he got. Kiyonari happened to be diligently scrubbing at a wall. The five groups now decided, they split up and went their separate ways to cover the school grounds.

(Faithwood Academy – Academic building corridor– Day 01 – 9:30)

While most of the other groups searched the grounds and rooms, Jinsei and his group opted to search the building around the classrooms and the gym. They checked into both the classrooms, the one Jinsei had woken up in and the one next door to it. Neither were particularly interesting. They passed on the gym after having already spent a decent amount of time in there. Heading down the corridor to the left of the gym, they came across a door with a cross on it.

"Did anyone check this room?" Jinsei asked Yayoi. She shook her head. Kiyonari just sniffed slightly. Opening the door, Jinsei found an infirmary, set up with three beds, a few medical supplies and kits. Nothing particularly special. "I doubt they have medical personnel here…" he speculated.

"Doubtful. But I'm sure we won't occur any serious injuries." Yayoi assured with a slight smile.

"If we're lucky…" Kiyonari added, seeming less chipper than the maid. Further exploration of the corridor revealed some more male and female toilets. On the other side of the gym, they found a medical room equipped with a large tv screen and 16 PCs. They fiddled with the power switches, but nothing in the room turned on or responded at all. Useless, Jinsei thought to himself. The corridor behind the gym however was a little bit more interesting. There were a pair of doors leading to the back garden, and finally a third mysterious double door. It had Monokuma's face printed on it and was locked up tight.

"Now what could this be for?" Jinsei queried. He tugged on the door a few times but it simply refused to budge.

"That's not for opening yet!" piped up a familiar voice as their old black and white acquaintance popped up around the corridor, plodding over to them with that ever present smile on his face. Jinsei scowled slightly.

"What do you want?" He grumbled slightly, getting increasingly irritated with this bear's presence.

"Just to give you a little information! I'll have you know, back in the zoo, I was one of the most knowledgeable bears! I knew all there was to know and even what wasn't there to be known!" the beat boasted, puffing out his chest slightly as he spoke.

"What information?" Asked Yayoi, resting a hand on Jinsei's shoulder in some attempt to prevent him from pressing the bear too far.

"Namely, this door!" he continued, gesturing to it. "This room's super special, and you can't go in yet."

"Why? What's in there?" Jinsei queried further, as the bear simply rocked on it's heels and chuckled.

"Oh you'll see. You'll see real soon. Promise." And with that, the bear plodded off back down the corridor and out of sight around the corridor. Jinsei sighed slightly, massaging his temples to keep himself calm.

"I'm a psychiatrist and I can't figure out how that bear's mind can function…" he admitted to his two comrades, one of whom was busy cleaning.

"Terrible… you think he'd be able to keep these corridors stain free." Kiyonari grumbled, sweeping her mop back and forth across the floor. Jinsei couldn't help but feel that could cause an accident, when the walking accident himself came running up to them.

"Guys, guys, guys!" shouted Shou as he ran up to them, feet pounding on the floor of the academy as he rounded the corridor. "We're meeting back up in the dining room! Come on, we gotta-" he slipped n the wet floor as he ran and came barreling down the corridor, flailing his arms around. He first crashed into Kiyonari, then into Yayoi and finally into Jinsei, sending the lot of them barreling over as Jinsei was crushed under the combined weight of a maid, a janitor and a runner. A less than pleasant experience, he thought, as he writhed beneath the human stockpile above him.

(Faithwood Academy – Dining room – Day 01 – 10:10)

Once the pile up in the corridor was cleaned up, the four returned to the dining room where all the other high school students had gathered. Jinsei's nose now bore two bandages from the nosebleed he'd gotten from the little pile up. Shou had only gotten off with a bump on the head. Each student occupied a seat, as they were ready to impart their findings.

"Well then… I guess we could call this a school meeting!" boomed Taro to the group, just so happening to occupy the head of the table. "We will relay our findings first! We checked out one of the rooms connected to the foyer and found a storage area!" he continued to shout as the room practically shook.

"That was a storage area?" Cho asked, quickly looking at her book and writing it down. "Oh yeah it was…" Jinsei had been wondering about Cho and her book for a while now… he'd have to ask her later.

"We found this, too, hanging in the storage room." Taro produced a small, iron key. "We haven't found a door for it yet though." He admitted, sheepishly.

"In short, it's a locker room. Alas, the lockers are sealed up tight with electronic locks. A most unpleasant turn." Yakusha added, nodding Yorick on his hand as if he were agreeing. "We did also perchance across a room of cleaning supplies." Kiyonari's head turned up at this.

"About time that turned up." She said. "I've been running low here." A few of them shot her odd looks.

"We found a kitchen connected to the dining room." Haruo chipped in next. "It's got two doors for some reason. One to the corridor and one to the dining room here."

"Fully stocked for that matter." Kasper added. "Whoever set this trap is intent on keeping us comfortable here…"

"Food runs out." Akari was quick to add. "We'll have to ration it out fairly or we'll starve."

"Not so!" Butted in Shou quickly. "Monokuma showed up while we were looking, told us that the fridge is refilled daily, so food won't be a problem at all!" The group now turned to look at Akari, Gina and Daisuke.

"Big whoop, we found a bathhouse." Daisuke muttered, batting some hair out of his eyes.

"Importantly… it's co-ed." Gina added. For a few seconds, the high schoolers minds were linked by a single idea. A very dirty idea.

"So, I suggest we take turns using the bathhouse as a group." She quickly butted in to silence any future thoughts.

"Very interesting indeed…" said Kasper, hiding a private smile.

Jinsei turned to Cosmic man and his two groupies.

"What about you guys, did you find anything on the grounds?" Of course it was the spandex wearing loudmouth who spoke up first.

"We did indeed! We encountered a locked shed and some flowerbeds! It seems we are allowed to plant and grow whatever we want! Also, that guard is still on duty out there…" he trailed off a little, thinking of their cyborg watcher.

"It's great though!" Hanako interrupted. "I've always wanted to grow veggies as well as my flowers! Now I finally have the chance!" she smiled cheerily as she rocked side to side, holding her hands.

"Locked shed… maybe that's what this key is for." Taro wondered aloud, holding it up like some kind of prized possession.

"Did you find any way to get past the wall?" Added Gina, leaning over the table to look at them.

"N-n-no…" admitted Furostomi, shivering as ever. "The only g-g-gap in the wall is the g-g-g-gate…" The group shared a collective sigh. So far, no-one's efforts had upturned any really good news or methods of escape. After Jinsei relayed his news about the mysterious room and the infirmary, the group was silent as they pondered on what to do. This went on for a good few minutes. The silence was deafening.

"I've got an idea!" Shou suddenly shouted out, banging his fist on the table for emphasis. "If there's a tool shed and we have the key, there's bound to be some digging tools in there, right?" The group exchanged looks.

"Probably, but what's the point?" Akari inquired, tapping her finger on the table out of irritation.

"Point is, we can dig under that wall! Just like that film!" he suggested, grinning ear to ear and referencing any number of films with tunnels in them.

"By Jove, that's an idea!" Taro agreed, seeming far more chipper. "I say we go open that shed right now!" Some of the group didn't seem as enthusiastic, but Hanaka certainly seemed up for it.

"I'll go check! Jinsei, why don't you come with?" Jinsei looked and her and raised an eyebrow.

"Eh? Why me?" Jinsei queried. Hanako put on one of her biggest smiles.

"Because you look like you need some fresh air silly! Now come on!" She got up and took the key from Taro, dragging Jinsei out of the dining room. Shou followed too, since it was his plan after all.

(Faithwood Academy – School Grounds – Day 01 – 10:50)

With Hanako skipping slightly and Shou running on ahead, Jinsei sighed slightly as he followed them out the front entrance and around to the left of the school grounds. Away from the gravel path that led to the school gates, the left side of the building bore a large garden, compete with pond, topiaries that were all sadly shaped like Monokuma and a couple of plants scattered around. The shed was quite out of place and stuck out like a sore thumb with its corrugated iron roof and splintery wooden walls. An iron padlock barred entrance as they approached. Hanako, in possession of the key, slid it into the lock and twisted it. The lock clicked favorably and dropped off the door, as she pushed the door open.

The shed was fairly musty and reeked of dust. Kiyonari would've had a heart attack if she'd seen it. Decked on the shelves were multiple tools, pots and gardening appliances, including some shears, a rake, a hoe and a rather hideous looking chainsaw. Jinsei got a horrible image of someone using these as weapons against their high school classmates. In a situation like this it was sadly more than possible. He felt nauseous just thinking about it. Hanako however was less worried as she began ferreting around in the shed. Shou frowned as he peered in.

"Damnit… not a shovel in sight. What kind of shed is this if we can't even have spades?!" He grimaced as his genius idea had been shot down so quickly.

"They have trowels!" Hanako piped up, revealing one from underneath a shed. Jinsei and Shou gave her a blank look and sighed slightly. So much for escape after all. It didn't help they could feel the petrifying gaze of the cyborg guard behind them, watching from the gate.

(Faithwood Academy – Dining room – Day 01 – 11:20)

The three soon returned to the dining room and slipped back into their seats one by one, met with the gaze of their expectant fellow students. Jinsei decided to deliver the bad news.

"There were no shovels in the shed. Nothing we can really use to dig our way out of here." He said, trying to let the group down gently. He noticed a slight wave of depression wash over the room, as the other students seemed to take this news less than well.

"So, now what?" asked Akira. The inevitable question of what to do next hung in their minds for a while. Trapped in this prison of a school with only the prospect of murder to warrant an escape, what could take someone's mind off of that.

The answer was quite shockingly simple. A growl seemed to circle around the table as something hit each of the students one by one, causing a clear and different reaction in each of them, though a glance downward was enough to indicate what they needed. They were all hungry.

"Yeesh… how long was it since breakfast?: Cho wondered aloud, flipping back through her book again.

"Good few hours, apparently…" Taro stated, checking his watch. Yayoi rose to her feet.

"In that case, I shall prepare lunch for all of you." She offered with her usual pleasant smile.

"Wait a second! H-how do we know you won't poison it?!" Taro accused her, pointing a finger at her. Yayoi thought on that for a moment.

"What if Master Jinsei comes with me? That way I can't poison anything with someone watching." Everyone seemed moderately fine with that. Jinsei cocked an eyebrow questioningly but got up to join Yayoi in the kitchen.

The two prepared dinner together. Yayoi's culinary skills were quite impressive. Knives flashed in her hands as she chopped steak into the smallest slices possible, her hands were a blur as she stirred up the beef amidst a puddle of sauce and wasabi. The stir-frying began soon after as she was insanely quick with her work, tossing in some red pepper too. Jinsei folded his arms slightly as he watched her.

"Is everything alright, Master Jinsei?" she addressed him without even looking, focused on her work. Jinsei coughed slightly.

"Why do you keep calling me master?" he inquired. Yayoi shook her head slightly.

"I call everyone master. Or mistress." She explained as she began boiling the noodles in a separate pot. "It's how I was raised. I came to this school to serve as the best maid there is, and that's what I'll do." She affirmed stoutly, continuing with her work.

"Doesn't it get tiring? I mean, can you not just refer to people as friends?" Jinsei continued to question. Yayoi nodded.

"It can be… people take maid's for granted. Just servants after all." Jinsei noted that down in his pocket book. He decided he should talk with Yayoi about these sorts of issues at a later date. When that would be, he'd decide later.

(Faithwood academy – Jinsei's room – Day 01 – 22:10)

Jinsei blinked slightly as he sat on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was startling how fast this first day had gone by. After Yayoi had finished the lunches, everyone had just sort of gone off to do their own thing. He'd been set to wandering around the school, trying to talk to people with little luck. It probably wasn't a good idea on the first day anyway. Everything was still too new to them.

At 10PM, one of the various TV screens around the school had lit up and Monokuma informed them it was nighttime. The kitchen and outside had all become closed off areas, despite Jinsei spotting the lone cyborg guard still standing outside. Most of the classrooms had become off limits too, so most had resigned to going to bed.

He sprawled out on his bed a bit, still digesting the information he'd taken in that day. A high school turned into a prison. The hope of humanity turning on itself. A lone stalwart inhuman guard. And that strange bear with a fascination for murder. It all seemed too surreal to be possible. And yet here he was, experiencing it all.

His thoughts turned back to that bear. He was possibly the biggest oddity in all of this. Just who was in charge of this school now? And what was their fascination with watching innocent teens killing one another? It made less and less sense the more he turned it over in his head.

He found himself awake for another long hour just thinking of the possibilities. Eventually he worked his way over to his desk, taking out a piece of paper and a pen. He began writing a letter.

"Dear Juchika

I have started my new life here at Faithwood academy. I must say, it's not what I expected at all. I wonder if it is for anyone else…

The other students are an odd bunch. They're all quite quirky and odd in their own ways, especially one who happens to wear spandex and a helmet. You remember that old sentai show we watched once when we were kids? Yeah, he's exactly like something out of that.

The academy itself sure boasts it's rustic appeal like in all those pamphlets. It's kinda nice really. All the stone corridors and carpeted floors. It's quite nice, almost makes me feel safe. Well… ironically so anyway. It's a long story.

Our headmaster's a weird sort. He's quite short and has a habit of making bad puns. He's also fond of teddy bears it seems. I don't quite know what to make of him, but like it or not, he's our headmaster so we'll just have to learn to get along. He can be a bit heavy handed too…

My room's nice. I know you asked me a few times about what accommodation would be like. You worry too much, incidentally. It's got everything I need, comfy bed, locked door, bathroom, running water. What more does a guy need anyway?

I hope to hear from you again soon. I know I promised I'd write so I've made sure to do just that. See you soon.

Yours truly, Jinsei."

He folded up the letter and slid it into a drawer in his desk before he got into bed. He was well aware that Monokuma probably wouldn't let them send letters away seeing as how closed off this place was. Writing the letter itself wasn't anything new though. Even if he couldn't send it, he found writing the letter to be extremely calming. Emptying his head of all the day's events and actions to allow him to start afresh the next day.

His thoughts eventually began to blank as he drifted off into slumber.


	4. Live slow die fast - Day 2

Danganronpa: Despair unbound

Chapter 1: Live slow die fast

Day 2

(Faithwood Academy – Jinsei's room – Day 02 – 8:00)

The sound of the bell roused Jinsei from his slumber. His dreams had been dismal, no sound, no sights, no feeling, just empty blackness. He rose up in bed slightly as the screen in his room flickered on with the image of the bear.

"Good morning everyone! It's not 7AM! I hope you all do your best today!" and with that he shut off the broadcast. Jinsei grumbled slightly. He wasn't good with early mornings, let alone ones where a voice was his wakeup call. But moving past his morning mood, he washed, dressed and proceeded to the cafeteria for his breakfast. He ran into Haruo on the way there.

"Oh, good morning." Jinsei greeted him with a pleasant smile. Haruo just meekly waved back to him, as Jinsei noticed he wasn't heading to the cafeteria. "Are you waiting for someone?" Jinsei asked. Haruo was wringing his hands slightly as he looked away.

"Well yeah… I was kinda hoping to catch Kasper." He admitted sheepishly. Jinsei was increasingly suspicious.

"May I ask why? Did you want to talk to him?" Haruo shrugged slightly, scratching the back of his head.

"I uh… just wanted to ask him about something." He continued.

"Like what?"

"Like… well, it's not really your business, Jinsei-san." Haruo pointed out. Jinsei decided to stop pressing and continued down the corridor. Something he always took note of in psychiatry was to know when to stop pressing someone. You press too hard and they push back. And making enemies in a place like this was NOT a good idea.

(Faithwood academy – Dining room – Day 02 – 8:30)

He soon made his way to the dining room, a collection of other students were already up and seated, though a significant number of students were currently absent. Hanako and Gina were up and sitting beside one another, with Cosmic man off to one side sitting oddly quiet for a guy like him. Taro was also awake and talking with Shou, no surprise that he had been first up. Walking in, he could smell cooking from the kitchen. He pondered briefly if Yayoi would be preparing breakfast for them. He took his seat and looked up to the spandex-wearing hero.

"Morning Jinsei-chan!" Hanako greeted him with her usual cheeriness and a wide smile. Jinsei couldn't help but return her smile, even if it seemed a little much; it was a welcome sight regardless.

"Morning." He replied indifferently.

"I'm glad SOME of us can show up for breakfast on time!" Taro boomed from across the room. "Where could the rest of us be?!" he exclaimed.

"Some of us are right here, thanks." Came a voice from the door, as Kasper, smiling cockily strode into the room, Haruo in tow. "Some of us just aren't as anal about being punctual in a school with no teachers." He mocked the puffy chested tenor, as he grew flustered and puffed his cheeks out angrily.

Once Yayoi started serving breakfast, a few more students traipsed into the room. Yakusha and Akira turned up together, followed by Furostomi, cold as ever in her big orange winter coat. Once breakfast was well underway, Daisuke turned up, called everyone a zero and sat down to his half warm meal. Cho and Kiyonari failed to make an appearance throughout breakfast.

"Wonder where they are…" Akari pondered aloud, while chewing a mouthful of food.

"Probably just overslept, pair of acute brains…" Daisuke muttered. Akira promptly slapped him on the back of the head. "What the fuck was that for?!" Daisuke shouted at her, gritting his teeth.

"For being an ass. You keep that up and I'll keep hitting you." Akira threatened, eyes aflame. Daisuke glared, but backed down from it. Eventually, Cho did turn up and looked shocked when she saw all the empty plates on the table. She flipped through her big book, which as usual was at her side and frowned.

"Awww man… I must've forgotten the right time…" she sighed slightly. As Jinsei looked up at her, his curiosity was piqued again. He decided now was the time to investigate, rising from his seat and approaching Cho.

"Cho? Can I ask you something please?" he queried as Cho just raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah ok… Jinsei, right?" she asked, pointing at him and then checking her book.

"Yes, Jinsei… what do you write in that book anyway?" he asked her. Cho shrugged slightly.

"It's nothing special… I just write down what you guys say." She turned the book to face her showing all the written words and information. It was quite astounding how she'd managed to get everything down so quickly and efficiently.

"That's quite amazing… but, why are you writing everything we say?" he continued to ask her.

"I'm an archivist. It's my job silly." She smiled slightly. She stopped a moment and checked her book, confirming this fact. Jinsei still couldn't help but wonder exactly what her deal was. Nevertheless, he let her go have breakfast.

(Faithwood Academy – Media Room – Day 02 – 9:00)

Jinsei had gone to the media room after breakfast. He and Kasper had decided to try hunting down some more information about the school. They were searching the room from top to bottom. Jinsei was trying to find the power for the computers. Kasper meanwhile was searching the rest of the room.

"So… what do you make of this?" Kasper asked Jinsei as he peered under a table.

"Make of what?" He replied, hitting the power button to one of the computers.

"This little trap we're in." Kasper continued. "You do realize one us is bound to snap sooner or later, right?" Jinsei frowned slightly.

"Some of the others are a bit… unstable…" he said sheepishly, not really wanting to think of the consequences of being in a school like this.

"Unstable is being too kind." Kasper said quickly, lifting up a small plastic box filled with wires and plugs. "Some of those people are time bombs waiting to go off."

"I don't want to be as negative on this as you. I think we can live together…" Jinsei argued. But even as he said it, he couldn't deny there was a seed of doubt nestling in his stomach.

"You can't deny it though." Kasper continued to argue. "One of us is going to do something stupid sooner or later." Jinsei sighed slightly.

"Maybe you're right… but, if that is the case, it's up to us to prevent it happening." He said, somewhat courageously, silencing the nagging thoughts in his head. "If we can keep people calm and collected, we might be able to pull through this." Kasper cocked an eyebrow.

"What's all this 'we' stuff? What makes you think we should be the ones doing it?" Jinsei thought for a moment. It was somewhat odd, but somehow, he felt responsible for the wellbeing of the other students.

"Maybe not we, then… but, I'm a psychiatrist. I think I can help everyone to be calm in this sort of situation." He nodded firmly. Kasper chuckled a little.

"Big task. But I won't stop you. In fact, you go try out that theory of yours." He suggested, gesturing to the door.

"Don't you need help searching?" Jinsei asked.

"No, I'll be fine. Now get." He said, flicking his hand slightly. Jinsei decided to take his advice and leave the media room. Whatever this feeling was, if he could prevent any deaths at this school, it'd be a step in the right direction for them as a whole… doing that was going to be difficult, however.

(Faithwood academy – Gym corridor – Day 02 – 9:30)

Jinsei was headed back to dining room to see if he could find anyone to chat with. In the corridor, he encountered Kiyonari, mopping her way up the hall. He paid her no mind and continued onward, but as he passed, he could swear he heard her make some small comment about something relating to ducks.

As he went by the gym door, he suddenly heard a loud thwack inside and the sound of someone shouting. Quickly assuming the worst, he yanked the door open and ran inside. The sight that met his eyes, thankfully, was not of murder. But instead of two of the students battling it out.

"Come, noble warrior! Surely you can do better against a warrior of justice such as myself!" shouted Cosmic Man, flipping backwards as a wooden katana was swung at him, striking a pose upon landing.

"Oh I can do better." Gina said with a grin, charging at Cosmic Man with her weapon pointed forward. Cosmic Man dodged to the left, but Gina brought her weapon up toward him from the side. The spandex suited hero brought up his arm to block and delivered a quick jab to Gina's shoulder, glancing her and knocking her back a ways as he then came forward with a sharp kick to the abdomen. Gina only just managed to block in time.

"Uhhh… what're you two fighting about?" Jinsei queried, halting the two in their battle as they turned to face him.

"Ah, Jinsei! Come to watch the epic battle of two seasoned warriors I see!" Boasted Cosmic Man, striking another pose and pumping his fist into the air.

"N-no… I just heard something and got curious… care to explain?" Jinsei could only guess the reasoning behind this brawl, even as a psychiatrist.

"It's quite simple actually." Gina answered before Cosmic Man could butt in. "I wanted to see if fancy pants here was as good as he said he was, so I asked him to spar with me." The katanaka continued, nodding firmly.

"She doubted the might of justice!" ranted Cosmic Man, shaking his fist angrily. "I must show her the path to truth and valor through a significant duel!" The two turned to face one another again and continued their fight as Jinsei just watched and blinked, feeling awkward in the situation. He made a note in his pocketbook and decided to leave the two to fight. Even as he left, he could hear them clashing behind him. He could only sigh slightly.

(Faithwood academy – Western grounds – Day 02 – 10:00)

As Jinsei stepped outside, he briefly saw a flash rush in front of him, leaving dust in his wake. Jinsei blinked a few times and watched the blur rush around the other side of the school, making out some red and white in it. What that could mean, he wasn't sure at all.

He walked around to the left of the side of the building, toward the flowerbeds. He spotted Hanako amidst the flowers, spraying them with something in a green spray bottle. She also seemed to be talking as if someone was there, but there was no-one around. Jinsei approached to talk to her, when suddenly the white and red flash sped past him again and right through the flowerbeds. Hanako's jaw dropped.

"Shou!" she shouted at the blur as it speed past. "You idiot!" she screeched oddly loudly for a change.

"Sorry!" the blur cried backward as it continued onward. Now it made a little more sense. Jinsei hummed slightly as he walked past Hanako, seemingly in grief over her flowers being trampled, and approached the blur as it was now jogging on the spot.

"Shou?" he asked as he drew closer to him. The blonde haired runner turned to look at him, face flushed slightly and a sweat on his brow.

"Hey Jinsei! What's up?" Shou grinned upon seeing him approach.

"N-nothing… just enjoying the day." Jinsei casually noted. The sun was out and the sky was clear at least… odd really. A place like this having such nice weather shouldn't be physically possible.

"Me too, actually. I've just been running." Shou said, jogging a bit more.

"Yeah… and trampling flower beds." Jinsei pointed out quickly.

"Accident, honest!" He assured. "Now, if you'll excuse me!" And with that, Shou went on running. Jinsei spotted something seemingly before the runner did as he quickly shouted out.

"Shou! There's a fence!" He called out, just as the runner's foot connected with the fence, tripped over it and rolling into a nearby hedge. Jinsei cringed and ran over to his aid. "Shou! You ok?" The runner poked his head out of the hedges, wincing slightly.

"No… think I twisted my ankle." Shou grumbled as he seemingly couldn't stand on his own accord. Jinsei helped him up, letting Shou rest on his shoulder as he started to help him indoors.

(Faithwood academy – Infirmary – Day 02 – 10:30)

Jinsei helped the injured runner indoors and into the infirmary. He happened to encounter Yayoi on the way there who offered to examine Shou's leg. While not fully medically trained, she claimed she was probably the best person to be able to examine a wound. Maids weren't terribly medically apt, but she was one of the best maids.

"It's just twisted, nothing broken as far as I can tell…" Yayoi claimed, checking over Shou's ankle as he rested it on the bed.

"Awww man… you saying I'm confined to bed all day?!" Shou exclaimed, frowning so hard Jinsei was certain his face was starting to warp.

"Sorry Master Shou." Yayoi said with a slight curtsey. "I'll try to make your day easier for you." Shou's expression turned slightly as the maid offered her services. He seemed fine enough for now, if not annoyed.

"U-um… d-d-did something h-happen?" piped up a voice from the door. Furostomi slipped into the room practically undetected, even odder considering the bright orange coat she was wrapped in as always.

"Shou just twisted his ankle is all, don't worry." Jinsei assured her. Furostomi nodded seeing Shou, who gave her a reassuring thumbs up as well.

"Oh um… J-jinsei?" She shivered as she looked back at the psychiatrist. "T-t-taro kun wants to see y-you. He's in one of the c-c-classrooms." Jinsei raised an eyebrow, but thanked Furostomi for the notice and headed out through the halls. He spotted Kiyonari again on his way there, who seemed to be glaring at him slightly. Jinsei, cautiously, waved at her to see what she wanted. The custodian said nothing and went off down her own way. Shrugging, Jinsei continued into the classroom, where he found the stuffy tenor in the classroom. He'd cleared out a space and the desks were piled up to one side of the room, the middle of the classroom was an open space in which he now stood. He looked annoyed, more so than usual anyway, Jinsei thought.

"Ah Jinsei! It's about time you got here!" he boomed in greeting as he approached him.

"What's up Taro? You needed me for something?" Jinsei said, trying not to think of the face that two people alone in a room could have tragic consequences.

"I've been practicing my singing in here, since those two _imbeciles_ are still fighting in the gym." He growled, looking toward where he believed the gym was.

"Cosmic Man and Gina are _still_ fighting?" Jinsei queried. It must've been a good hour or so now since he last saw them, how could they still have the strength to be going at it?

"It's truly preposterous, I know." Taro snorted, adjusting his cravat slightly. "Anyway, I need someone to listen for a while. I shall bless you with my beautiful voice!" Jinsei began to cringe at the idea.

"Uh, that's fine Taro, I've kinda got things to do-"

"Nonsense!" he cut him off sharply. "You're getting a one time private performance of Japan's greatest singing prodigy!" He cleared his throat and stretched out his arm, opening his mouth wide. No way Jinsei was getting out of this one.

(Faithwood academy – Dining room – Day 02 – 12:00)

It was a good few hours before Jinsei managed to escape from the classroom. Taro had a good voice and all, but he was so damn loud. Even now, Jinsei's ears were ringing as he sat down to lunch. A few others had gathered in the dining room. He spotted Hanako down at the far end of the table, looking gloomy and muttering something about her flowers. Akari and Furostomi were there too, along with Yakusha. The three were chatting about something.

"It is indeed most courageous to perform such spectacular feats!" Yakusha was saying to Akari, quite insistently. "Isn't that right, Yorick?" he asked the plastic skull as he brought it up in his left hand, flicking the jaw open and putting on a voice. "Oh yes! Very good indeed fair lady!" Akari blushed a little.

"Come on you guys, it's nothing special. I just did what anyone else would have…" Akari continued, tapping the table slightly.

"W-well… I d-d-don't think I could d-do it." Furostomi said, smiling slightly.

"Of course you could. Hell, you're not even scared of…" Akari trailed off slightly as if losing her place, rubbing her temples slightly. Jinsei cocked an eyebrow.

"Everything ok Akari?" he asked. Akari's head snapped to attention.

"Oh, yeah! No problems." She smiled nervously. Jinsei rubbed his chin slightly, wondering what Akari could be hiding. She was quick to change the subject. "So I heard Shou twisted his ankle?" she asked Jinsei, fairly directly.

"Yeah, he was running around and did it." Jinsei informed her. Akari chuckled slightly.

"Figures… guy's fast but can't seem to watch where he's going." No-one at the table could really disagree. Shou's clumsiness was pretty much making a name for him at this point; this injury wasn't going to help his reputation all that much in the group.

"So… do any of you have anything to do right now?" Yakusha asked the three of them. Furostomi shook her head, as did Akari. Even Jinsei didn't really have anything particular to do that day. Yakusha grinned like a Cheshire cat when he saw the three of them agree there wasn't much to do. "Well then! I propose we continue doing some investigating!" He said with a flourish and a flick of his wrist.

"Why? We already searched this place yesterday." Akari pointed out, to which Yakusha tutted slightly and shook his head, noticeably annoying her.

"Ah but a new day means we may find new things! Besides, can you think of something better to do?" That was a point. None of them could exactly think of anything worth doing. So, the four get up as a little investigation group and went off to explore the school some more.

(Faithwood academy – Gymnasium – Day 02 – 18:00)

The group's search had sadly been dreadfully unsuccessful. They returned and revisited rooms, checked them over for clues, with little to no luck. It killed some time at least.

Their last stop was the gym, which they'd chosen to avoid due to the continued loud noises coming from it. But when they entered, they found Gina and Cosmic Man kneeling before one another, both battered and beated. Had they really been fighting all day?

"You… are a… valiant… opponent…" Gina managed between panting gasps of air.

"You… are a… real champion… of valor!" Cosmic Man yelled, despite clearly being as tired as Gina.

"Uh… do you two need help? Medical attention?" Asked Akari, kneeling beside Gina.

"No… we'll be fine." The kendoka assured her, raising a hand slightly as the two started to get to their feet. It was clear they were struggling so Furostomi and Yakusha helped them up.

"Thank you citizen..." Cosmic Man panted and somewhat patronizingly patted Furostomi's head, as if she were some little fan. The group hauled the tired heroes back to dining room where Yayoi had prepared dinner for them. The dining hall was mostly full, except for a few students who had decided to eat in their room. Hanako, Kiyonari and Kasper were among them, as well as Cho and the still injured Shou, whom had been helped back to his room by Yayoi. Cosmic Man also dashed off with his meal once he had it. The maid had prepared a less traditional steak dinner for the group, with only Hanako rejecting the meat and having a salad instead. Jinsei sat down beside Akari and the others and tucked in.

"You think Yayoi gets sick of cooking for us?" Akari wondered aloud through a mouthful of steak.

"M-maybe… it's n-n-not really f-fair of us…" Furostomi agreed through smaller nibbles.

"Nonsense!" announced Taro, his voice projecting across the room, not having suffered at all from the hour-long performance he made for Jinsei earlier. "If she doesn't raise a problem, I say we let her do as she pleases." Haruo, sitting beside Taro, merely shrugged.

"I'm with Taro. Not our problem. Now shut up, I'm trying to eat." Daisuke grumbled as he chomped on his food. Akari promptly slapped him on the back of the head. "You bitch logarithm!" He snapped, glaring at her.

"Did you forget this morning you little idiot?" Akari frowned as she spoke down to the mathematician. "Keep that bloated ego in check." Daisuke looked like he was about to punch her… but thought better of it and got back to his steak. Jinsei couldn't help but admire Akari's no nonsense attitude toward him, keeping a mind that extravagant in check was no doubt taxing.

Once Jinsei was done eating, he said goodnight to the others and headed back for his room. But on his way, he spotted Yayoi emerge from the kitchen, a silver platter in hand with a white mug of coffee on it.

"Hey, Yayoi." He said, approaching her. "I didn't know you liked coffee." The maid shook her head.

"It's for Shou. He asked for one after dinner." She informed him, continuing down the corridor. Jinsei decided to accompany her. A question nagged in his mind.

"You know… you really don't have to do all this for us." He began, sounding nonchalant.

"What do you mean?" Yayoi asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I mean, we're all students. I think it'd be more fair to prepare our own meals." He suggested. "I mean you're cooking for 14 people, it must be a hassle, right?" Yayoi shook her head.

"I had to prepare food for my father's work parties at home." She assured him. "Sometimes there'd be 30 people or more in the house at a time." Jinsei's jaw hung open for a second. If that was even half true, this girl was amazing… no wonder she got into Faithwood.

The two continued to Shou's room and Jinsei knocked on the door. Shou, leaning on a crutch and looking glum, opened it for them.

"Ohh, coffee… thanks." He said, sighing slightly as Yayoi took it over to his bedside table.

"You're welcome Master Shou." Yayoi curtseyed with a pleasant smile as she exited. "If you need anything else, just call for me." Jinsei was about to leave too when Shou stopped him.

"Hey, wait up a sec…" The runner asked him. Jinsei spun on his heels, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes?" He asked. Shou chuckled slightly and rubbed the back of his head.

"I know, alright?" He asked rather disjointedly, only serving to confuse Jinsei some more. "I know, I'm a clod. I know you guys call me clumsy." This made Jinsei even more curious. He hadn't expected Shou to be this aware of the group considering how headstrong he was.

"What makes you think we say that?" Jinsei retorted slyly, wanting to dig a little deeper. Shou shrugged slightly.

"I gotta be fast man… gotta be the best. And it means I mess up. You guys have seen me, you and that janitor chick saw me too." Jinsei nodded slightly, even though he was unaware Kiyonari had been watching the incident from earlier. "Just… I don't know where it comes from." Shou continued, rubbing an eye slightly. "But… you're a psychiatrist right?"

"Yes, I am… are you asking for me to work with you?" Jinsei continued, smiling lightly. Now things were starting to make some more sense.

"Yeah, if you don't mind… come by tomorrow and we can talk some more." Shou finished, grinning cheerily. Jinsei nodded and bade him goodnight, returning to his room and preparing a fresh piece of scrap paper.

"Dear Juchika

Today went much faster than I expected. Time just seems to fly here. The other students and I are starting to fit in and live our high school lives peacefully. That is except for a few fights every now and then, but I think we can make this situation work without anyone losing their life.

One of the students actually approached me today and asked for some counseling. I remember it used to happen in high school a lot too when people found out about me. I'm happy to help them really. And anything to help keep this new life of ours peaceful and calm.

I do wonder about some of us though. Yayoi continues to serve us without question, Gina and Cosmic Man's rivalry seems to be a bit too strong and Daisuke gets angrier all the time. I just hope tensions will tide over before anything truly bad happens.

Yours truly, Jinsei."

With his letter complete, Jinsei slid into bed and slumbered soundly.


	5. Live slow die fast - Day 3

Danganronpa: Despair unbound

Chapter 1: Live slow die fast

Day 3

(Faithwood Academy – Jinsei's room – Day 02 – 8:00)

The familiar sound of the morning bell roused Jinsei from his sleep. He had dreamed he was watching the Olympics from the track, observing the athletes in their various events and sports. Just as the javelin was being thrown, his eyes opened and rolled slightly from hearing Monokuma's usual morning spiel.

"Let's continue to do our best today!" Monokuma mockingly said before the screen turned off. Jinsei rose from bed and made his way to the dining room. The dining room was packed, even Yayoi was sitting down to eat. Though Jinsei couldn't tell who made the breakfast. Probably Yayoi. He slipped into his seat and began eating.

"…so…have you guys noticed it yet?" Akari started, glancing around at the group.

"What?" piped up Hanako, far more chipper than yesterday.

"Well… aside from a few of us." She shot a sharp glance at Daisuke. "We're getting along well." The group took a moment to consider this information and seemed generally pleased about it.

"It's true!" Cosmic Man butted in. "Like valiant survivors, we have acted as one and banded together! The murderous intent of the monochrome villain is foiled!" he spouted constantly.

"It is true… no-one's taken his bait yet." Kasper agreed quietly, nodding.

"Maybe we can just live t-together... like a f-family!" said Furostomi, also looking much happier than usual. Cho, scribbling away as usual, nodded in agreement, soon followed by the rest of their group. Breakfast passed along soundly with the group eating their fill and engaging in more idle chit chat. However, like a thundercloud at a picnic, their happiness was about to be spoiled.

"Upupupupupu~" came the laugh of a familiar stubby bear who had perched himself on the dining table's head. The group swiveled to look at him as he held his paws to his mouth, seeming extremely pleased about something. "You bastards are talking about peace already?" He snickered, before outright busting into a fit of laughter.

"What's the joke you vile fiend?!" Cosmic Man roared, holding himself back from launching onto the bear and throttling it.

"You mean you've not noticed yet?" The bear questioned, swaying on it's feet. The group collectively glanced toward one another, curiosity abounding. No-one seemed to know what they were talking about. The bear only giggled some more.

"Beary interesting… but I'll point it out for ya! One of you is missing!" he announced. The group started counting one another to check who was present. And it was just as the bear said. One chair had been left empty. And the only one of them not present was… Shou.

"Master Shou is injured." Yayoi quickly cut the bear off, most likely in an attempt to keep the group calm and stop them from jumping to conclusions. "He is likely still asleep." The bear grinned devilishly.

"Well if he is, why don't you just go get him?" The bear teased, wiggling it's hips slightly as it truly seemed to be enjoying every moment of this. Jinsei rose to his feet, taking action.

"I'll go. I'll bring him back in a moment." He challenged Monokuma. The bear merely smiled and tossed him a key.

"There's a spare key to his room. Juuuuust in case." The bear teased before it hopped off the table and seemingly into nothingness as no-one in the room could see him after he made his leap.

(Faithwood academy – Male dorm room corridor – Day 03 – 9:00)

Jinsei strode down the corridor, keeping a confident mindset as he approached Shou's room, even whilst holding the suspicious spare key. He reached the door and knocked on it a few times, expecting Shou was still asleep and hoping this would be enough to wake him up. When he got no response, Jinsei knocked a little harder.

"Hey Shou! It's time to get up!" he shouted into the room. Still no response. Jinsei's palms began to sweat slightly, his brow furrowing. He attempting to knock a third time, outright thumping the door with his fist as a horrible panging sense of dread began to swell inside his stomach.

"Shou, come on! We're starting to get worried!" he called again. Once again, there was nothing. Just the eerie silence of the empty hallway. Finally, Jinsei caved in. He brought up the key in his right hand and slid it into the door lock. The cold metal pressing against his warm hand, he twisted it slowly, clicking in the lock and unlocking the door before him. Grasping the handle, Jinsei pushed it open a crack.

"Shou?" he said again, begging for some reassurance from the runner that everything was ok. Once again, no response. Jinsei gulped, feeling a horrible hand of fear clutch his heart and quicken it's pace. It took all his nerves just to lever the door open, finally allowing him full access to the room. His eyes fell upon a sight that was eye catching and truly horrific, as Jinsei finally came to realize just how right their demonic headmaster had been.

Shou was sat up in bed, still dressed in his bedclothes from the previous night, the covers tucked in up to about his stomach, his arms limp by his sides. His mouth was hanging open, a sickly trickle of blood dripping from his lips and onto his chest and bed sheets, splatters of blood peppered his sheets and clothes like sickly polka dots. Shou's eyes were also open, wide open, staring emptily at the door ahead of him. There was no mistake. There was no doubt. There was no alternative. Shou Saitou, the super duper high school level runner, was dead.

Jinsei was a psychiatrist. A person like him knew how to keep his emotions in check for the sake of those around him in dire situations. But this was not a dire situation; this was something he had never experienced before. Fear, sadness and anguish overwhelmed him as it brewed inside of him, forcing it's way up his throat as he dropped to his knees, meeting the stare of his former classmate.

"AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" he screamed, bouncing off of the walls of the academy and through the whole building.

His scream was soon accompanied by the sound of pounding footsteps. Jinsei could barely hear them. He was deaf to the world. He felt the others rush into the room behind him, he could make out muffled cries and exclamations of disbelief. It just couldn't get through to him. The last thing he remembered before he toppled forward and blacked out, was the cry of one of the students as they discovered the terrible truth.

(Faithwood academy – Gymnasium – Day 03 – 9:15)

When Jinsei woke up, he felt sick. He felt like he'd been asleep for days. And yet, it had only been a few mere minutes.

"Master Jinsei!" A voice broke his stillness and silence. It was a familiar voice. He saw her face looking down on him from under the gymnasium ceiling…

"What…" he sat up, rubbing his head, as the memory of what he'd seen came rushing back to him. The boy dead in his bed, the blood on his sheets, the stare of death… "Shou! Shou, he-"

"Dead." Kiyonari said flatly, standing behind the maid. "We know."

"No… no, it couldn't have been!" Jinsei cried out, fighting back the urge to scream again.

"It is… Monokuma confirmed it…" said Cho drearily. She didn't have to even check her notes for that one.

"W-well why the hell are we in the gym?! We should be-" Jinsei began before he was cut off again.

"We're not here because we want to be, Jinsei… Monokuma called us." Akari said, her arms folded and her brow furrowed into a stern expression.

"What the hell could he want?!" Jinsei shouted outraged that the bear had taken them away from their now deceased friend, no time for mourning.

"Because you little numbskulls have bearly any idea how this is going to work!" came a reply from the podium, as the familiar monochrome hell spawn popped up onto the podium. "I've been listening to you lot flinging accusations at me! I must say I'm beary disappointed in all of you. I went over the rules over and over damnit!" the bear stamped his foot a few times in what they could only define as anger.

"Well it must have been you, vile fiend!" Cosmic Man accused, pointing dramatically at him. "You killed Shou!"

"Nooooope." Monokuma answered blankly, tilting forward. "I wouldn't go to the trouble of getting you guys here in this high school life just to kill you myself. Too boring!" He insisted, swatting at the air with his paws.

"…b-b-but that would m-mean…" Furostomi began.

"Yuuuuup. One of you guys killed him so you can graduate!" The tension in the room thickened as Monokuma's words spread throughout the group. Jinsei didn't want to believe it… but the evidence was clear. So long as this bear wasn't lying of course…

"S-so… does that mean the… killer can, leave?" Yakusha muttered, seeming shaken by all of this as Yorick's teeth were chattering. The bear burst into laughter and flopped onto his back, rolling around as he laughed.

"Oh that's rich! You think you can just stab someone and be allowed out? That's so naïve!" he laughed as the group just cringed and awaited the end of his little laughing fit. He eventually tottered back onto his feet with a grin. "No no no, now we can get into the real fun! Any killer here has to get away with his crime too!" That set the group aback somewhat. "And to find out whether it worked or not, in a little while, we're gonna hold a class trial!" he announced, practically bounding with glee.

"Class trial?" queried Kasper, rubbing his chin.

"Quite!" continued the bear. "In a few hours, we'll begin the trial in the class courtroom, where you guys will have to find out which one of you is the murderer! You'll get to debate over who it is and then decide at the end in a vote." Jinsei frowned. Why was the bear trying to enforce democracy in a prison anyway? "If you can find the right killer, they'll be punished for their heinous crime! Buuuuut if you guys pick the wrong person…" The bear put his hands to his mouth as he sneered. "Then the culprit goes free and everyone else will be punished!"

"What… exactly are you saying by… punished?" Interjected Akari, clearly quite nervous to even ask.

"To be frank, execution!" the bear laughed aloud as the group took stock of the looming threat.

"B-bullshit! You'll kill all of us if we mess up just once?!" Daisuke snapped, clenching his fists and teeth in rage.

"Yup! Just an incentive for you guys to take this seriously, you know?" he insisted, rocking on his heels again.

"T-this simply isn't fair!" Taro insisted, puffing out his cheeks slightly in flustered rage.

"You're right!" Monokuma agreed, pointing at him. "But, life just isn't fair I'm afraid! Especially not for your friend who got axed!" He joked darkly, sticking it to the group harshly as they all winced slightly at the remembrance of the scene they had witnessed mere moments ago.

"This is so wrong…" Gina mumbled, arms folded and wincing.

"Anyway, before you guys get to investigating, I advise you check your ElectroIDs. I added some data there for you on the body and anything cause of death related. Just to give you guys something to work with!" Monokuma continued, grinning and tilting his head to the left slightly.

"I see… so you know how it happened. Hell, you saw it didn't you?" Kiyonari accused, breaking her usual silence.

"Yup! Fun as all hell! Anywho, good luck investigating, and I'll see you in a few hours at the class trial!" And with that, he did a swimming dive behind his podium and disappeared. We were left to decide what to do now, as a lesser group than when we entered this school. They shared a solemn silence as they turned over this new information in their heads and made their various decisions and judgements. Jinsei especially, had a lot to get over.

"…everyone." Jinsei began, trying to address the group and take the responsibility. "I know this is… terrible. It's awful. But… depression will get us nowhere. We have to combine our forces and deduce who the killer is… lest we all die instead."

"Master Jinsei is correct. " Yayoi agreed, nodding. "Through unity we can pull through these sick games."

"Well… beat's doing nothing…" Haruo agreed generally, nodding his head. There wasn't much of a confident response from the group, but there were a few good looks of improvement here and there. It was better than nothing, in the end.

"First, we should get people to watch the crime scene." Reccomended Yayoi. "If we leave the killer with the crime scene, he could tamper with the evidence and make this harder for us." A general murmur of agreement went through the group.

"I shall take the job of watchman!" announced Cosmic Man, having seemingly recovered from his silence earlier.

"I'll stand with him." Added Gina. "Just in case…" The two led the way back toward the crime scene, with a few members of the group in tow.

(Time until trial – 1:30:00)

(Faithwood academy – Male dorm room corridor – Day 03 – 9:30)

On his way back to the crime scene, Jinsei took the time to read up on the file on the ElectroID. The file had been attached to the student profile of Shou, whose profile picture now had a bloody cross going through it, not exactly helping Jinsei to feel any better. The file read as such:

Victim: Shou Saitou  
Time of death: approximately 2:00 A.M.

The corpse was discovered in Shou's room in the male dormatories. The victim died in his own bed.

Cause of death: Poisoning.

Additionally, the victim's left ankle was twisted prior to the incident.

Jinsei winced slightly. Of all the things that could've killed Shou, it was poison. This was only going to make things more difficult…

Upon entering the room, Jinsei could barely hold himself back from vomiting upon seeing Shou's body again. But, he recalled he was a psychiatrist. He knew he had to treat this professionally and not let his emotions get in the way. Gina and Cosmic Man were on watch on either side of the room as Jinsei took out his notebook and decided to take notes.

First, he examined the body a bit. He took note of the blood that had been vomited onto his clothes. From this, he wondered if the victim had been force fed the poison in the middle of the night. He next spotted Shou's room key on the table beside his bed. It hadn't been touched since last night. Jinsei found that odd. Co-inciting with this, he went back to check the door of Shou's room. There were no signs of forced entry, so how could someone have gotten in to administer the poison to him? He made another note in his notebook.

Next, he checked the floor to the left of Shou's bed. A coffee mug had been dropped from the table and had smashed on the floor, leaving a brown stain on the carpet. Examining the cup shards closer, Jinsei spotted something odd near the bottom of the cup. There were dots, it seemed. Slight dots indicating something had been in the cup… Jinsei couldn't quite decipher what though.

The last thing Jinsei found was on the table too. It was a small journal that belonged to Shou. Checking through the entries, he found nothing particularly noteworthy. However, one of the pages happened to have been ripped out. It was a very minor detail, but he noted it anyway.

The room, decidedly lacking in evidence, led Jinsei to two distinct questions. First, how Shou could have been poisoned when no one could enter his room during the night, and second, exactly what WAS the poison that was used to kill him? There were no chemical stores or labs on this floor so it couldn't have been something like cyanide… so if Shou was poisoned, it had to be something you could find in an average household, or in a school like this… and that gave him an idea. Bidding farewell to the two guards, he went off back into the halls.

(Time until trial – 1:10:23)

(Faithwood academy – Supply cupboard – Day 03 – 9:50)

Arriving at the cleaning cupboard, Jinsei bumped into Kiyonari coming from the female dorm room corridor, dustpan and brush in hand.

"Uh, hey." Jinsei started awkwardly, continuing to walk over to the supply room.

"Need something from there?" Kiyonari asked as they approached it.

"Kinda. It's for the investigation." He reached out and tried to turn the handle, only to discover it was locked. "Wha… when was this…"

"I got it." Kiyonari said, producing a key from within the pocket of her outfit and slipping it into the door lock, opening the room up.

"How come you have the key?" Jinsei asked he, genuinely confused. Kiyonari shrugged.

"I'm the janitor. Why wouldn't I have it?" It was a fair point, but the keys were supposed to be kept on hooks in the kitchen. Jinsei decided he'd ask her about it later and instead inspected the supply room, checking through cupboards until he found what he was looking for. A red plastic bottle with a cap that had yet to opened on top of it. Jinsei furrowed his brow slightly as his theory of what the poison had been was smashed. Unless…

"Kiyonari, do you know if we have any other bottles of this?" He asked, showing it to her. The janitor sighed slightly, setting down her dustpan.

"No. There's only the one bottle, I checked." She confirmed, matter of factly. Jinsei frowned and took a note in his notebook. He was about to leave the room, when he spotted something. In Kiyonari's dustpan… a few small scraps of paper were lying in there. There were some forms of writing written on them… and the paper style was familiar. In fact, it was the exact same kind of paper Jinsei had seen in Shou's notebook.

"Where'd you sweep these up from?" He asked as he scooped up the pieces. He tried fitting them together in his hands to little avail, as about 60% of the pieces were absent.

"Female dorm corridor." She answered. "You usually go rooting through trash?" she sneered, but Jinsei paid it no mind. What would a scrap of paper from Shou's notebook be doing in the female corridor? He took a note on it and left Kiyonari to her work.

"You're welcome." She said sarcastically as Jinsei left.

(Time until trial – 0:58:21)

(Faithwood Academy – Kitchen – Day 03 – 10:01)

Jinsei decided to check the key hooks in the kitchen. There were three in total. One for the supply room, one for the garden shed and one for the boiler room. The boiler room and shed keys remained on their hooks and the supply room key was gone. Jinsei made a little note when a noise drew his attention behind him. Yayoi was in the kitchen, sitting at one of the stations and checking through a coffee pot. To her left, jinsei noticed the shards of a broken plate.

"Yayoi? What're you doing?" he asked her, deeming this suspicious enough to warrant some questioning. The maid looked up at him, and Jinsei instantly noticed she looked concerned.

"Master Jinsei… apologies, I was investigating something I feel is relevant to the case." She stated quickly. Jinsei raised an eyebrow.

"What could the kitchen have to do with Shou's murder?" Jinsei queried. Yayoi looked like she was about to say something but seemed to decide against it.

"I'll explain during the trial… but, may I please speak with you for a moment?" She asked, a hint of pleading in her voice. Jinsei looked around to check if anyone was there, and seeing as there wasn't, he nodded at the maid. She seemed pleased. "First… I must ask. Do you think I'm innocent?" Jinsei cocked an eyebrow. Oddly specific question to ask really… right now, any of them could still be suspects. Any of them could have killed Shou… but Jinsei knew that sometimes it was better to play along to get some information. And Yayoi looked troubled as is…

"Yeah, I do. Why?" She sighed slightly, rubbing her temples.

"I just wanted to be able to trust someone else." She said, seeming somewhat more affirmed by Jinsei's acceptance.

"Alright… so what happened with that plate?" Jinsei asked, taking out his notebook.

"I found it last night." Yayoi answered. "It was in the corridor, so I collected it up." Jinsei took note, though it didn't seem too important… now he had one more idea of what to do before the trial started.

(Time until trial – 0:30:58)

(Faithwood Academy – Infirmary – Day 03 – 10:30)

Before Jinsei headed to the infirmary, he tracked down Haruo, who had been hanging around and talking to Kasper. He knew if he was going to find any possible poisons, he'd need the guy who knew them well enough to recognize them. Haruo had been fine with it, Kasper seemed to be busy thinking anyway.

The two arrived at the infirmary and Jinsei began looking.

"Why are we here again? I don't get it." Haruo asked, scratching the back of his head with his usual indifference.

"We're looking for poison. Shou was in here yesterday too. Maybe there's a clue as to something that might've happened." Jinsei explained, rooting through a cupboard of medical supplies. It wasn't exactly a strong connection to the case, but it was better than nothing at this point…

"Well, there's a lot of chemicals that could cause some problems if used incorrectly." Haruo stated as he took some glass bottles and examined them, turning them over in his fingers. "But there's nothing outright poisonous, not enough to kill someone anyay…" Jinsei sighed slightly. That was his last lead on this case. Everything else would just have to come through in the trial.

"…Haruo?" Jinsei turned to the alchemist and sighed slightly, thinking of the upcoming trial.

"Yes?" He answered, turning to him.

"…who do you think did this?" It was a tentative and dangerous question, no mistake. Jinsei could be talking to the killer right now, something he was very much aware of… but he wanted some impression of what the consensus was. Anything that could give them an edge in the trial…

"I dunno… I don't want to suspect anyone…" Haruo said sheepishly, wringing his hands slightly. "It's like… we were all supposed to be friends, we can't just turn on each other like this." Jinsei thought on that. It was sick, all of this. It was exactly what that bear wanted to see out of them… For now, all they could do was play along and hope for the best.

(Time until trial – 0:00:30)

(Faithwood academy – Elevator – Day 03 – 11:00)

The group was eventually called together to go the mysterious room near to the gym, which had now been unlocked. Inside they found a large room in front of an elevator, big enough for them all to pile into and stand quite comfortably. Apart from each one another, that is. No-one was trustworthy right now. Among them, a killer was hidden. One of them who had killed one of their classmates. And now they had to bring him or her to justice. But could they possibly do it? Could they condemn a friend to execution?

Jinsei walked forward with his classmates into the elevator, the doors closing behind them as the elevator sank down into the ground. Jinsei could feel his heart beating faster as his hands clenched slightly. The atmosphere was tense, tight and frantic. But he told himself to be calm. He was a psychiatrist after all. He could keep his feelings in check and take things cautiously… that was the key to success here. Caution.

He kept telling himself that as the elevator juddered to a halt and opened wide, the gates of hell opening into the courtroom of purgatory.


	6. Live slow die fast - Class Trial

Danganronpa: Despair unbound

Chapter 1: Live slow die fast

Class trial

(Faithwood Academy – Underground courtroom – Day 02 –11:05)

The courtroom was… in a word, garish. It was the kind of thing a billionaire would build for his sick fantasies. The walls loomed over them with their soft red velvet hue, stationed apart by large marble column akin to the kind you saw in ancient Greece. In the middle of a room sat a number of seats, sixteen in total, each labeled for convenience with a name. At the head of the room in a regal looking throne, sat Monokuma, grinning as per usual. At his left side stood Arkus, silent as ever with his menacing presence being enough to set the tone of this class trial.

"Upupupupu~" laughed Monokuma from his throne. About time you got here! Now all of you, take a seat so we can get this show on the road!" the students obeyed and took their seats, now all facing one another. Everyone was watched; no-one could escape their gazes. And so it began.

(CLASS TRIAL – COURT IS NOW IN SESSION)

"Alright, any questions before we kick off?" Offered Monokuma, peering out at the group.

"I h-have one…" mumbled Furostomi. "W…what is that?" she pointed shakily to a sign that stood in one of the seats. It was a headshot of Shou, a big red X crossing through his face.

"Oh that! Well, just because they're dead doesn't mean they get to miss out!" He explained, bouncing slightly in his seat. Arkus nodded in agreement.

"Well… what about that?" Akari asked, pointing to a second empty seat. "Why is there a sixteenth seat for only fifteen people?"

"Oh that! Well there is a reason, but I'll explain that to you after the trial." Monokuma continued with a nod. "Now, it's time to start this party!" And with that, the trial began as Jinsei briefly felt the room was spinning from the tension.

"Alright, let's start this simply." Akari began, seeming to take control of the situation. "We all know its Shou who died."

"In his own bedroom." Added Kasper added quickly.

"So while he was asleep… someone broke in and poisoned him." Yakusha thought, rubbing his chin. But Jinsei knew better.

"Wait up there Yakusha. I think you forgot something." Jinsei stated, referring to the notes he had taken earlier in his notebook. "Shou's key was in his room and the door was locked. No-one could've broken in." He was glad he'd made the note earlier.

"Well if that's true… then how could Shou have died?" Yakusha asked. The question seemed to stump most of the people in the room. How could someone have killed Shou without even entering his room.

"Could someone have picked the lock?" Taro suggested.

"No." Replied Daisuke with a snort. "The doors have anti picking mechanisms, dumbass."

"Cheek!" Taro flustered, flabbergasted at Daisuke's crude remark.

"Getting back on topic." Kasper quickly steered the conversation back on track. "I'll propose a theory as to how Shou was poisoned in a locked room." The group turned to look at the hunter with his cocky smile. "It's simple. The culprit fed Shou the poison secretly, without him knowing." Jinsei nodded. That would make sense.

"But… how could someone do that?" Hanako piped up.

"They wanted to get out of here, you stupid zero?" Daisuke mocked her.

"N-no, that's not what I meant!" Hanako replied. "I mean… how could someone have fed Shou poison?"

"It's simple, actually." Kasper continued with his smirk. "Last night, before bed, Shou drank a cup of coffee." Jinsei saw where he was going before the words came out of his mouth. "In other words, the culprit poisoned his coffee and it kicked in during the night. Clever killer we have on our hands." Kasper concluded, seeming to be reveling in the attention.

"So… while Shou was making coffee last night, someone poisoned it?" Haruo asked. Jinsei decided to step in quickly.

"Shou had a twisted ankle though. He didn't make the coffee." He said, noting from his book again.

"Well then who did?" Haruo asked quizzically.

"I know who…" Cosmic Man started, having stood there with his arms folded all this time. He brought up his hand pointed it skyward. "My vision of justice spotted her through the kitchen door… the maker of said poisonous broth is…" he paused for dramatic effect before bringing his finger down. "You, Yayoi Rokujou!" All eyes were on the maid now, all gazes were that of accusation. It seemed obvious now.

"Of course… the butler always does it!" Yakusha shouted triumphantly.

"She's a maid though…" Cho added quickly, not needing to refer to her notes for that one.

"Whatever! Fact is it's a classic cliché!" Yakusha continued, the actor of course being the one literate in all things cliché.

"N-no, I implore you masters, I am no killer." Yayoi tried to defend herself, keeping her cool. But Jinsei saw it. A slight trickle of sweat, beading on the side of her head. Could she really be…? "T-there's no evidence I poisoned the coffee." Yayoi insisted. Jinsei was about to pipe up when someone beat him to the punch.

"Actually Yayoi." Haruo started. "It's not a specific trace… but on the bottom of the mug, there were marks of something other than coffee left in the mug." Yayoi looked shocked by this. "So something other than coffee was in that mug."

"Give it up Yayoi, it must've been you!" Akari jumped on the bandwagon. Everyone was ganging up on the maid as she tried to plead innocence… but something brought Jinsei back on task.

"Guys!" He got their attention back. "It's too early to draw a conclusion. We've still got more evidence to look at." The group wasn't entirely convinced, so Jinsei just decided to move things along. "Let's discuss the murder weapon."

"Alright then. Well it had to be poison." Daisuke started. "The culprit probably used something professional, like cyanide."

"He couldn't have." Jinsei quickly interrupted him, referring to his notes. "There are no professional kinds of poisons on the first floor, not even in the infirmary."

"Well fuck you and all then!" Daisuke snarled at him.

"They must've used something more common then… like maybe… uh bleach?" Cho suggested, leafing through her book a bit more.

"No." Jinsei continued. "I went and checked the cleaning supplies earlier with Kiyonari. The bleach still hadn't been opened."

"Well then what could the killer have used as poison?" Hanako asked, still keeping quiet mostly. It was the big question now.

"Is there any other kind of household chemical that could kill someone?" Gina asked, turning specifically to Haruo. The alchemist hummed for a moment.

"Well, there are a few household items that could be poisonous… cleaning supplies and some gardening supplies." He answered, rubbing his chin slightly. That's when it hit Jinsei. Gardening supplies!

"The shed." He started out. "There must be gardening supplies in there. Could the culprit have used some of those?" It made sense at the very least.

"I suppose they could… but the shed is kept locked, isn't it?" Yakusha pointed out, bringing Yorick up who naturally agreed with his statement. "To take anything out of the shed, the culprit would have to have taken the key."

"When I was making the coffee, the shed key was still on the hook." Yayoi added, even though she was the most likely suspect at present. "No-one had the key after lunch, so far as I know."

"Yeah, like we'll believe you now!" boomed Taro, quickly putting Yayoi in her place.

"So, no-one could've taken something from the shed then?" Cho asked, still taking notes on all the trial's proceedings.

"Not unless they opened the shed before lunch and took the gardening supplies with them." Kasper pointed out. "So this might just be a heavily premeditated murder…" Jinsei wondered about that.

"But who could have taken it from the shed? We don't have a way to prove that." Akari added quickly. Most of the group seemed stunned as they wondered if anyone could possibly unravel this one… but, Jinsei had an idea. It was a small one and a loose point at that, but there was something he remembered seeing yesterday that might give them the answer to this question…

"Hanako?" Jinsei started, looking to the botanist.

"Yes Jinsei?" she replied with a smile.

"You were in the garden yesterday, weren't you? I remember seeing you with your flowers." He continued, nodding slightly.

"Well, yes I was, but what does that have to do with this?" she questioned, tilting her head slightly.

"You were spraying your flowers with something, weren't you? Could that have been our poison?" Hanako did a double take as all eyes were on her now.

"Oh that? No, that was just a bottle of water! F-flowers need water after all!" she assured them, shaking her hand in front of her face in an attempt to dissuade them. Jinsei wasn't impressed.

"No Hanako. I clearly remember the bottle you were holding was green. I don't know any green water spray bottles in the academy…" Hanako looked a little more nervous.

"Well, maybe you just saw it wrong? I mean, the only other person who saw me was Shou…" Hanako insisted, getting a bit hot under her collar.

"Actually." Interrupted Kiyonari. "I saw you two from the window. You were holding a green spray bottle, clear as day." Hanako gasped slightly.

"So, what was in the bottle Hanako?" Jinsei asked her.

"It was… weed killer. I was using it to keep my garden safe…" she explained, wiping her forehead slightly.

"So we've confirmed there's weed killer… does that mean the culprit used it?" Akari asked, once again taking charge.

"It's very likely, there's no real alternative." Haruo added, knowing his stuff of course.

"So Yayoi must've swiped the weed killer from Hanako and put it in the coffee!" Taro boomed. "It makes perfect sense!" Yayoi flinched slightly.

"Sirs, I insist… I did not poison Shou." Yayoi was keeping her cool for the most part, but the invasive stares of the other students were hard to stave off, even with a maid's level of decorum.

"Wait a sec…" Jinsei started. "There's no instance Yayoi could've taken the weed killer." The groups now turned back toward him.

"What do you mean?" Akari said with a somewhat inquisitive glare.

"Well… we all remember Shou was injured, right?" he started off simply to get the students on the same page.

"Right, he twisted his ankle." Cho said, referring to her book. "At exactly 10 AM yesterday."

"Right. So, during that time, he was in the infirmary, and Yayoi was caring for him." Jinsei continued. "I saw that myself."

"But Jinsei." Taro quickly interrupted. "After that you came to see me in the classroom for my amazing performance!" the tenor boasted, which Jinsei couldn't help but instinctively wince at the memory. "After you left, Yayoi could have left and gotten the weed killer!"

"Exactly! She must be the killer!" Cosmic Man shouted to match Taro's volume, but it was the quietest of voices that dispelled them both.

"U-um… actually." Began Furostomi, raising her hand slightly. "I um… stayed with m-m-miss Yayoi after J-j-jinsei left… s-she never left the infirmary except to t-t-t-take Shou t-to his room." The group gasped slightly.

"In other words." Jinsei quickly picked up. "Yayoi has an alibi to taking the weed killer." The room went silent as a single implication began to hit them. "Which means, the only other person who could've used it to poison Shou… is you!" Jinsei pointed his finger toward… Hanako.

"M-m-me? C-cmon Jinsei, d-don't be silly!" The botanist was quivering slightly, holding her hands together.

"Evidence points to you Hanako. There's no denying that." Jinsei quickly shot her down as the botanist shook her spot.

"B…b-but I…I…" she tried to say, clearly scared.

"Now hold on a minute you trickster!" Cosmic Man quickly butted in. "Stop hounding the innocent citizen at once, in the name of justice!"

"Cosmic Man, you can't believe it wasn't her." Jinsei sighed slightly; irritated the loud hero was getting in the way.

"I can! She is an innocent and delicate girl she could not poison someone! Besides, even if she did have the weed killer, Yayoi still made the coffee!" he insisted, pumping his fist into the air in defense of the shaking Hanako.

"Y-yeah! I didn't even go in the kitchen!" Hanako joined in with someone defending her. Jinsei thought for a moment before turning to Yayoi.

"Yayoi, did anyone come into the kitchen when you made the coffee?" The maid shook her head in response.

"I don't think so… I know there were a few people in the dining room at the time, but no-one came into the kitchen." Jinsei frowned slightly as he realized his theory was just shot down.

"You see! Hanako was eating in her room too, so she wasn't even near the kitchen!" Cosmic Man concluded triumphantly as Hanako started smiling again, confident they were in the right. But Jinsei had seen the fear behind her voice. It wasn't the fear of a person about to be wrongfully accused. It was the voice of someone with something to hide.

"Wait, Yayoi." Jinsei said, coming up with a new point to use. "You said you left the kitchen to clean up that broken plate, right?" The maid nodded.

"Yes, that's right." Jinsei checked his notes for a second, and the plate on the electroID. An idea had formed in his head.

"Where did you find the plate, exactly?" Yayoi took a moment to think about it.

"It was in the dining room, a short ways from the door near to the information desk…" she said, still not completely on the same page as him. Kasper on the other hand was hiding a smirk.

"So, during when the plate smashed, you left the kitchen for a moment to pick it up?" Jinsei added as Yayoi nodded again. "In other words, in the time that Yayoi left the kitchen, someone could have snuck in through the second door and poisoned Shou's coffee." The group stood shocked, as the theory seemed to resonate with them. More suspicious eyes turned to Hanako as suspicion for her grew.

"W-w-wait just a second!" Hanako cried out in fear. "J-just hold on! Y-you can't prove that I threw that plate!" She said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"That's a point… how do we know Hanako actually dropped the plate?" Asked Akari, even though she still seemed somewhat convinced at this point. Jinsei had already thought this one through.

"I can prove it. All we have to do is examine the plate shards." He said, pulling up the image on the electroID as the rest of the students did the same. The plate had broken into seven distinct shards, white as could be. "Notice anything odd here?"

"I don't see nothing wrong…" Daisuke muttered. "Looks like an average white plate to me."

"Exactly." Jinsei agreed. "Does anyone remember what Yayoi cooked for dinner last night?" He asked the students as some had to pause to think. Cho flicked back through her book.

"Last night, Yayoi cooked everyone a steak dinner." She said quickly. "Except for Hanako who ate a salad instead… right?" she said, unsure of herself. The maid nodded.

"Yes. Hanako was the only person who had salad." Yayoi confirmed as she seemed to be catching on to where Jinsei was going with this.

"Exactly. Now, these plate shards are quite clean even though someone ate off of them." Jinsei continued, pointing to the plate. "And steak tends to be very juicy and leaves a lot of stains on a plate."

"So, you're saying… this plate has to be Hanako's, because it's the only one that's clean?" Asked Yakusha, cocking an eyebrow quizzically.

"Yes. Add onto that, Hanako ate in her room, so she had a plate with her to use." Hanako gasped and put up her hands as if to refute the claim.

"H-hang on here! We're going too fast! This doesn't make any sense!" Hanako insisted, looking on the verge of tears. Jinsei shook his head.

"Alright. Let's start this from the beginning." He said to fully affirm this in his head. "This morning, Shou twisted his ankle and had to stay in the infirmary. During that time, the culprit saw an advantage to commit murder. So they stole the weed killer and kept it until the right time. The culprit later used their dinner plate to distract Yayoi and take her out of the kitchen for a moment. After that, the culprit slipped into the kitchen via the second door and sprayed the weed killer into the mug, thus contaminating it. Then the culprit retreated to their room and Shou drank the coffee, being poisoned by it and dying during the night!" Jinsei rounded it off nicely, wishing there was some sort of visual reconstruction to make all of this easier. "Isn't that right, Hanako?!" He pointed at the quivering botanist as she only shook harder at his statements. No words left the botanist's mouth as all eyes were on her, clutching her sweating palms.

"Well?" asked Kasper. "Do you have any comments on this?" The botanist nodded numbly and seemed to swallow dryly as if something was forcing it's way up her throat. She suddenly and quite dramatically, raised her arms up and slammed them down on the banister in front of her.

"How can you all be so meeeeeaaaaaaan?!" she cried out, tears flooding down her cheeks as they flushed red. "How can you all suspect me! I didn't kill nobody! I could never kill someone!" she whimpered, shouting and letting the tears roll down her face.

"B-but the evidence is all there…" Jinsei said, regretting what he was saying slightly.

"But I'm innocent!" she cried out louder, continuing to bawl. "I couldn't kill Shou! I liked him!"

"It was to get out of here, r-right?" Akari tried to interject.

"No!" Hanako quickly rebuked him. "I was happier here than at home! I was happy just tending to my flowers! I was fine staying here!" she insisted, continuing to flood the trial room.

"C-calm down a second here…" Gina tried to calm her.

"No! I hate all of you! You think I murdered someone!" she cried even louder than Taro usually spoke. "Why would I kill him! I had no motive! You can't prove that! I'm innoceeeeeeent!" her voice rung around them as Jinsei's brain began to work quickly. He had to silence her arguments for good. It was true, wasn't it? What motive would she have for killing Shou if she was truly happy here… there had to be something! Something he overlooked! Something he missed!

It was then he spotted something. A shard of paper, poking up out of the pocket of Hanako's dress as she continued to bang her fists on the banister and cry. It looked familiar… where had he seen it before?

"Hanako?" He began.

"What?!" Hanako bawled.

"In your pocket? What is that?" Jinsei pointed to the paper shard as the other high schoolers turned to see it too. Hanako blinked and sniffled.

"Uh… n-n-nothing… it's just s-scrap…" she said suspiciously, wiping her eyes slightly.

"Show us." Jinsei said bluntly… it hrut to do all these things… but it was either that or death for them all. Hanako still refused to show them, so from her left, Daisuke's hand suddenly invaded her dress pocket and scooped out a cluster of paper shards.

"H-hey! P-put those back you b-bully!" Hanako cried out, trying to snatch them from Daisuke.

"You stupid acute brain…" he muttered as he tossed the shards in a ball over to Jinsei. Jinsei caught them and quickly put two and two together. These shards had a certain pattern on them. The exact same kind he'd seen in Shou's diary and the shards Kiyonari found. Quickly using the shards in combination with the ones he'd been tossed, he began to piece them together. It took a good minute as Hanako fidgeted around nervously. When he was finished, he had the full diary page in hand. It read

"Dear diary

Been a tough day. Twisted my ankle, won't be running for a while. Sucks.

Ran over that Hanako's flowers. Fun times. Stupid flowers. Hate em.

Might do it again tomorrow. Get rid of em all that way.

Shou."

The group stood silently as Hanako stopped crying and stared blankly at Jinsei.

"Well… I'd say this is a pretty solid motive. I found some spare scraps in the female dorm corridor too… you obviously read it and got angry…" Jinsei nodded. The rest of the room seemed to be in agreement, shaking their heads in disgrace or nodding slightly. The botanist was silent, her eyes sore from crying as she just looked down at her seat.

"Welly welly welly well!" Monokuma said, popping up to his feet and laughing. "It seems you guys have reached a conclusion! That means it's ballot time! Just hit the button of who you think the culprit is!" he cackled with glee as the group silently did as he said. Once they were done, a slot machine appeared in the middle of the room as the reels rolled around, baring the faces of the students. Eventually the reels stopped, each one bearing the cute smiling face of Hanako Tsubaki. A little neon sign read "Guilty" as some recorded cheering was heard and the slot machine vanished.

"You got it right! The one who killed Shou Saitou was in fact, Hanako Tsubaki!" Monokuma bounced around in trumph as the reality of the situation hit for all the students as they looked upon the silent botanist.

"Hanako… you really…" Jinsei began, still unable to believe he had brought about this.

"All because of… your flowers?" Akari added, unable to believe it. The botanist remained quiet… until she finally spoke.

"Why are you all so fucking ugly?" She asked, clear anger in her voice but… the tone was off.

"W-what?" Furostomi shivered, this time from the malice in the usually sweet girl's voice.

"All of you.. you are so damn ugly." She snarled, clenching her fists. "Why… why can't you be more like flowers? So innocent and sweet… and beautiful." The group were shocked at this sudden shift of personality from Hanako.

"What do you mean?" inquired Yakusha nervously.

"Why do you think im a super duper high school level botanist? Because I'm just good with flowers?" she spat sharply. "No… to me… flowers are people. I speak with them because everyone else in this world is so fucking ugly…" she continued, clenching her fists tighter and tighter. "Do you see it now?" she asked them.

"See… what?" Jinsei asked.

"Why that asshole had to die!" she slammed a fist on the banister. "He killed them… he ran over my flowers and murdered them!" she cried out. "I heard them scream as he trampled them! He's the real murderer here, not me!" she insisted, the water works starting again even as she gritted her teeth and slammed on the banister. The group were silent, still not quite able to believe what they were hearing.

"Well, enough with these formalities! It's punishment time!" Monokuma announced with a chuckle. Hanako turned to him eyes widening.

"W-wait! Please, don't! I did what was right damnit!" Hanako pleaded, more tears rolling down her face.

"I have a very special punishment in mind for our Super duper high school level botanist!" Monokuma laughed, taking out a small gavel from seemingly out of nowhere. "It's time to start!" he said, slamming the gavel down on a red button that appeared on a podium in front of him as Hanako screamed at him not to.

(GAME OVER – HANAKO TSUBAKI HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY – COMMENCING EXECUTION)

Before Hanako could react or even move, the execution had begun. A metal bracket flew out of a wall behind her and latched around her neck, dragging her away down a long corridor to the tune of her screams. The students left behind got to watch a TV screen above Monokuma's throne of the events about to unfold.

The lights flickered on in a large greenhouse, Hanako was standing inside, looking around nervously. The place was full of strange large plants looming above her. Near the room, Monokuma was standing on a platform, holding a level to some sort of control. He grinned looking down at Hanako as he suddenly threw the switch, turning on the sprinklers in the greenhouse. As water rained down on the plants, they sprouted upward into twisted and terrible things.

EDEN MK 2

From behind her, two thick vines suddenly sprouted and lashed out at Hanako, striking her in the back and knocking her over forward with a cry of pain. The botanist scrambled in the dirt and tried to run as the vines slithered after her like great emerald serpents. Another vine snaked out in front of her and tripped her up as she ran, but she only stumbled and kept running. Ahead of her, a plant bud reared up and puffed out a soft orange cloud right into her face, startling her and making her stumble as she coughed. The vines wrapped around her legs and took her upward, dangling from their grip, she looked beneath her, in time to see a large pitcher plant, far larger than any she had ever seen. It's maw was wide open. As the realization hit her of what was about to happen, she looked upward at the vines holding her ankles.

They were unraveling. She quickly tried to grab at one of them but it was far too late. The vines twisted, the botanist fell, screaming all the way as she vanished into the pitcher plant, it's maw sealing behind her.

The students didn't fully see what happened to her next. The best they got to see was a bulge in the pitcher plant as something was trying to force it's way out, followed by the hiss of something corrosive as the bulges faded and the struggling stopped.

The students stood aghast at what they just witnessed. They couldn't even move, rooted to the spot by watching someone die in a spectacularly horrific manner. Their headmaster, however, was jumping for joy.

"WOO HOO! That was so intense! I'm feeling the rush here, such a rush! I'm getting' high on this despair!" He cackled as he leapt up and down, flapping his arms. The group turned to look at him, a mixture of sorrow, misery and anger amongst their faces, as two of their number mirrored the other's reactions perfectly.

"You bastard!" cried out Cosmic Man and Akari as they both ran at him, ready to attack. Arkus quickly stepped in and delivered an uppercut to Cosmic Man's chest and snatched Akari's waist in his mechanical claw, tossing her into the wall with a harsh thud.

"Now that's more like it! If you guys hate me so much and want to leave, you know what to do! Just don't be as sloppy as little miss fertilizer!" he joked as he bounced around some more and his cyborg guard returned to his side.

Jinsei gulped dryly. He and the others all seemed to connect on the same mindset at that moment. About how deep into this they truly were.

(Faithwood Academy – Jinsei's room – Day 03 – 23:00)

"Dear Juchika

I can't begin t o describe how despicable I feel at this moment… today, I, in a large way, contributed to a person's death.

It was in the name of justice, I know. But that's not what matters. This isn't justice. In a fair world, we would not have to commit these acts for the slightest chance of freedom.

This isn't a fair place we're trapped in. This is a cage and we are the rats. Promised a sliver of hope from ending the life of another human being… I feel sick just recounting what I've done.

The needs of the many are supposed to outweigh the needs of the few… but I'm a psychiatrist. I work with people one at a time. If I could have only spoken to Hanako before this all happened… could I have prevented this? Could I have stopped the loss of life?

I'll never know it seems…

Yours, Jinsei."

Jinsei's bed felt like nails that night as he slipped into his first nightmares of the hellish academy he was inside of.


	7. What does courage mean - Day 4

Danganronpa: Despair unbound

Chapter 2: What does courage mean

Day 04

(Faithwood Academy – Jinsei's room – Day 04 –8:00)

Screaming. It rattled in Jinsei's nightmares as images flashed before his eyes. He saw Shou choking to death and vomiting in his bed as he died in the night from the poison taking effect. He saw Hanako dangling by her ankles above the deadly pitcher plant below, shrieking for aid that would never come as she plummeted into the jaws of hell. And all Jinsei could do was watch as they died before his eyes. They looked to him and begged him for help, pleading him to save them. But he couldn't move, nor raise a finger in their aid.

The morning bell was what saved him as he sat bolt upright in bed, dripping in sweat. He panted heavily as his night terrors slowly faded away in his head, though their sickening presence still lingered.

He took a long and cold shower to clear his head before he proceeded to the dining room for breakfast. Before he arrived, he stopped at Shou's door. It had been left open. Checking inside, the room was clean. The corpse had been removed and there was no trace the runner had ever existed… it was shocking how clean the room was now. All the students were gathered; even Yayoi wasn't in the kitchen for once. They all sat at the table sharing a fairly similar grim expression. Namely, for the two empty seats that now sat beside the table, remainders of their lost classmates.

"Morning…" Jinsei said as he entered the room. He got no reply, aside from a short wave from Yakusha. He couldn't help but share in this group despair over the events that had transpired only a few days ago. They all sat together as no one particularly felt like talking. And then of all the times someone could've tried to cheer them up, it had to be him.

"Upupupu~" laughed the bear as he appeared at the head of the table. "What's wrong everyone? Is that the sweet smell of despair I detect from all of ya?" he taunted as he strolled up the table like a drill instructor.

"Fuck off." Spat Daisuke, not bothering with a math insult as he just glared daggers into the bear.

"Hey now! No need for that, cmon I even got you guys a gift!" the bear reached behind his back and pulled out a large bouquet of flowers. "Flowers always brighten a room, don't you think so?"

"You monster…" Cosmic Man muttered as he gave the bear the sharpest look he could. "You take the lives of our friends… and now you return to mock us?!" The bear turned and tilted his head.

"Me? Last I checked I didn't feed Shou that poison!" He laughed some more, rocking on his heels.

"You're the one who penned us in here. It was your influence that made Hanako…" Akari trailed off as the painful memory came back to her.

"And she was still the one who spiked the coffee. You can't blame me for that one!" the bear continued back up the table toward the head, leaving his flowers on the table. "Well, before I go, I have a few announcements for you all!" he said excitedly, though no-one seemed to share said excitement. "First off, I wanted to answer your question from yesterday." He said, looking at Akari. The firefighter raised an eyebrow.

"What question?" she asked, tapping the table slightly.

"The sixteen places in the class trial of course!" he said with a little bounce. "To tell you guys the truth… there's a sixteenth student who got admitted. The super duper high school level prisoner!" That took everyone by surprise. Someone else had been admitted under their noses? How was that possible?

"P-Prisoner?" Peeped Furostomi, seeming even colder than usual.

"That's right! And he happens to be hidden somewhere in this school!" the bear continued to rant, hopping from one foot to the other. "If you guys can find him and release him, I'll give you all a special treat for it!" A treat? Jinsei was dubious about that. Knowing Monokuma it'd be an instant replay of Hanako's execution. "As for my second announcement, because we have less students now, I'm gonna give you guys more free roam! So, the second floor has been opened up! Make sure you go check it out, ok?" and with that, he did a somersault backwards and disappeared into the air, leaving the horrible whiff of despair hanging over the table. Or maybe that was just the flowers…

(Faithwood academy – Stairwell – Day 04 – 9:00)

The group had decided to get their own breakfasts that morning, which the maid didn't even raise a complaint about. Once they were down they located the stairwell, which had opened up in the gym corridor closest to the elevator. The group had all gathered for fear of losing someone else again to explore the newly opened floor. They emerged into the corner of a corridor, stretching in two directions. The group split up on their own without even needing to discuss, Jinsei decided to stick with Yakusha as he checked out one of the doors on the right side of the left corridor. Opening it, Jinsei was led into a large room with a wood paneled floor. Some black curtains hung around the edges of the room. Behind them, Jinsei could see some mirrors. There was a small storage room in the corner too. Yakusha suddenly seemed gleeful.

"By Tybalt's nine lives!" he cried out as he walked into the room. "A studio! Fit for an entire company of actors, all to our selves!" he cried happily, going over to the storage room to check it out. Jinsei was less enthusiastic, but at least someone in the group was trying to remain cheerful. He pulled back one of the curtains to find an array of mirrors lined up along the walls along with a metal bar around hip level. He suddenly spied something in the mirror behind him… it was a masked man with a knife! Jinsei's eyes widened as he turned to face him, only to realize what it was last second.

"Damnit Yakusha! Don't do that!" he shouted with a begrudged sigh as Yakusha removed the mask and dropped the prop knife.

"Calm down Jinsei! These are dark times, a little humor must be administered here and there." He said with a smile, bringing Yorick up to continue speaking. "For is it nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles?" He mimicked the skull saying. Jinsei pondered that.

"It's not just fortune though… we're intentionally being forced into this." He argued weakly.

"I know. But you are a strong man of the mind Jinsei. I believe you have the power to settle these squabbles between our houses." He laid a hand on his shoulder. "And I wish to assist you." Jinsei couldn't help but smile. It was nice that someone had faith during these times, even more so that someone wanted to bring peace to this unstable band of people they had.

(Faithwood academy – 2F corridor – Day 04 – 10:30)

Jinsei eventually left Yakusha to continue his foraging in the studio. On his own he found a secondary classroom off to the left of the corridor, as well as another stairwell to the next floor, sadly barred off for the moment. Going further along the corridor and around the corner, he encountered Cho lingering outside another room off to the left of the corridor. Jinsei waved at her and wandered over.

"You find something Cho?" he asked, looking at the slightly open door. Opening it up further he uncovered what appeared to be a therapy room. There was a large red leather sofa on one side of the room, a comfy looking recliner on the other side of the room and a small table with a potted plant on it. Jinsei's face brightened up slightly when he peeked at the corner. This room had no cameras. Apparently even Monokuma could respect the privacy of a therapy session.

"You think you could use this room?" Cho asked, looking up from her book as they stepped in.

"I do… if I could just talk to some of the students in here, I could defuse the tension." He was growing more and more pleased as ideas of stopping further deaths entered his head.

"Where we tense?" Asked Cho, quickly checking her book. "Yeah, guess we were…" now Jinsei just had to put his skills to work.

"Cho? You said you have amnesia, right?" he asked, turning to the note-taking girl who shot him a blank look.

"Well, yeah…" she answered, looking a bit sheepish about it. That was normal, Jinsei thought.

"How severe is it?" he asked cautiously, not wanting to overstep his boundaries too much. Cho sat on the sofa and put her book down.

"Pretty bad… I've had it a long time now." She began to explain, resting her head on her hands as she leant forward. "That's why I write everything down… because I know I'll forget later." Jinsei nodded and wrote some notes down in his notebook.

"Have you tried working through memory exercises?" he asked her quickly, to which she shook her head. "Doing some of those could help you form stronger memories and push you through your amnesia. I can help you if you want." He offered with a friendly smile. Cho blushed with embarrassment but seemed grateful nonetheless.

"T-thank you Jinsei-sama… but later. I think we need to go meet the others." It had been a fair while now. That and, Jinsei was starting to feel hungry.

(Faithwood academy – Dining room – Day 04 – 12:00)

The students reconvened at the dining room as Yayoi prepared food. Some of them had objected, but Yayoi insisted it was her way to help the group get back on track. So no one continued arguing. They all sat around picking at their food, a feeling of gloom still hanging like a storm cloud above them.

"Well, what did we find?" Asked Jinsei, deciding to get the conversation rolling.

"We found a gym… changing rooms male and female, leading into it." Akari started, tapping the table slightly.

"There's a swimming pool connected to it as well." Gina added. "You have to go through the gym to reach it." That made some sense, Jinsei thought. Don't want people barging into the pool when someone's using it.

"Couple more classrooms… boring and pointless stuff, like learning percentages." Daisuke muttered coldly as Akari merely patted his head that time.

"Well!" announced Yakusha with a smile. "I have found a studio, and it's simply divine!" he flipped Yorick up onto his hand. "Aye aye it is! We can have some real fun in there!" despite the amusing performance, no-one seemed impressed as gloom still sweltered over the room like the humidity in a rainforest. Jinsei decided it was finally time to break the ice.

"Guys." He began, rising from the table and looking down at his classmates. "We can't just sit here in despair like this. We have to acknowledge what has happened… we lost two of our classmates."

"We can see that…" noted Kiyonari coldly.

"H…h-how are we s-s-supposed t-t-to forg-get it?" Furostomi quivered slightly as she hugged herself inside her suit.

"We can't. And I'm not saying we should." Jinsei continued. "But we do have to move on from these tragic deaths."

"How are we supposed to move on?!" Taro announced, slamming his fists on the table. "They were both murdered! And we could be next!"

"No we won't, Taro!" Jinsei insisted, matching the tenor's volume. "Look at us! We're playing right into that bastard of a bear's paws. He wants us to sink into despair like this, to turn us against one another!" The group was taken aback by this as the considered the bigger picture. Right now the bear was probably watching them and laughing his ass off. "I'm not saying we can forget our lost friends… but I think we owe it to their memories to continue with our lives."

"But…" Haruo began, scratching the back of his head again.

"What is sitting and despairing going to do for us? What good will it do for Shou and Hanako if we continue to feel sad for them?" Jinsei continued, as the mood of the room seemed to be lifting slightly.

"I believe you're right, Master Jinsei." Yayoi piped up, standing up as well as the group turned to look at her. "To prevent further tragedies, we must connect as a group and bear no ill will." The mood became lighter.

"I too agree!" Announced Cosmic Man, striking a pose. "Even if we fell, we may get up once more and fight for our justice! The monochrome fiend will pay!" For once, his speech was actually kind of uplifting. One by one the members of the academy cheered up and joined in a rousing cheer to move onwards and upwards. Only three didn't join in the cheer. The hunter, the janitor and the mathematician. The hunter just nodded, hiding a smile and Daisuke nodded too. Kiyonari made no gesture whatsoever.

"Anyway, I found a therapy room upstairs. If you guys want to talk, I'll be happy to listen to you." Whilst he spoke, he passed a note around the group, telling of how there were no cameras in the therapy room. This seemed to alleviate any fears the group had about the room and these sessions as Jinsei called them. One thing was for sure. The despair had been dispelled.

(Faithwood academy – 2F Therapy room – Day 04 – 14:00)

The group had gotten back into the swing of living their lives. Yakusha had invited Taro and Cho into the studio to do some acting with them. Jinsei had gotten a peek in and the three seemed to be having fun, though Cho seemed to be having trouble memorizing her lines. Akari had gone off to the exercise gym to work out with Gina, which Jinsei decided to avoid. He knew that Haruo and Kasper had stayed downstairs with Yayoi, and Kiyonari was off swabbing the corridors as usual. Furostomi was with him. She'd taken his offer for some counseling and they now sat opposite one another in the therapy room.

"Alright Furostomi. The cameras can't see us. Everything in this room is confidential if you want it to be." Jinsei explained as he had done to his other patients in the past. He seemed to calm her down a bit as she let out a bit of a sigh.

"W-well… t-there is s-s-something…" she began, twiddling her glove covered thumbs. Jinsei offered her a reassuring smile.

"You don't have to say anything you're not comfortable with me hearing." He assured her again, flipping out his notebook and trying to ignore the case notes he took for Shou's death.

"W-well… I-I-I know you g-guys think-k-k I'm just n-n-n-nervous…" she began, her stutter only getting worse as she spoke. "B-b-but… it's honest-t-tly because I'm c-c-cold…" Jinsei took a few more notes as he listened to her.

"Well then what is it?" Jinsei inquired, leaning over his seat a bit.

"I h-h-have… w-well… it's c-c-c-called Raynaud's phenomenon." She admitted slightly. Jinsei jotted it down and rubbed his chin, having not heard of it.

"Raynaud's phenomenon? What's that exactly?" Jinsei inquired further.

"W-w-well… it makes my b-b-blood vessels s-spasm a lot… s-so the flow is red-d-d-duced…" she continued, looking a little sorry for herself. "M-my home town is in the m-mountains… it j-j-just start-t-ted happening…" She sighed again and looked down toward her feet.

"Do you feel like it makes you lesser than the rest of us?" he inquired. It was always good to use tag questions to draw out a patient's further feelings. The skier nodded slightly but said nothing, so Jinsei decided to move on. "You say you lived in a cold village, so, when where you first inflicted with this disease exactly?" Furostomi hummed a bit and thought to herself.

"Umm… p-p-probably last year… d-d-during a sk-k-king competition when I… I… I…" she trailed off as she couldn't seem to get up the courage to say it to him.

"It's alright Furostomi… you can tell me." Jinsei tried to assure her as the skier froze up. But finally, she seemed to think it over and decided.

"I… was injured d-during a compet-t-tition…" she said as she brought a leg up onto the sofa and pulled up her thermal trousers, revealing a set of stitch marks on her thigh. The psychiatrist noted it down as this made sense with what he now knew.

"So the injury obviously left some deeper scars which caused this phenomenon." Jinsei theorized. Furostomi seemed shocked by it.

"Of… of course… that makes sense…" She agreed, sitting up as she thought about it some more. "It's true… I-I kinda… never g-got over it…" Jinsei smiled and patted her shoulder.

"Well I think you've done great for just a first session." He said. The chilly little skier formed a timid smile beneath her hood.

"Thank you Jinsei…" she got up and slowly opened the door, headed out. Jinsei sat back and smiled as he rounded up in his notes. He felt accomplished. If he could talk to everyone like this, he might just be able to prevent anything else bad happening in this horrid high school.

(Faithwood Academy – 2F swimming pool – Day 04 – 17:00)

After his chat with Furostomi, Jinsei had decided to cool off with a little time in the swimming pool. He'd caught Akari and Gina in the exercise gym resting after a session. He'd spotted Daisuke in there too, lingering in a corner. God knows what he was doing in there. For now, the pool was empty as he swam lengths back and forth. Swimming helped clear him up quite nicely after a hard day.

He heard the door creak open as someone entered the room. He emerged from the depths of the water to check who it was. From the swimsuit he could quickly assume his visitor was a female. Without her usual outfit, he honestly didn't recognize her at first. But after one word, it became clear who she was.

"Greetings master Jinsei." Said Yayoi with her usual pleasant smile.

"Hey. What're you doing here?" He inquired, resting his arms on the poolside and trying not to stare at her barely clad bust.

"No-one needs me right now so I'm taking a break before dinner." She replied, sitting on the poolside and letting her legs dip into the water.

"You're still fine with cooking for all of us?" Jinsei asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Of course. It's my duty as a maid." She said, never breaking her pleasant smile.

"Don't you get tired of just serving everyone?" Yayoi seemed to take a moment to think about that one.

"Somewhat… Daisuke and Taro can be a bit temperamental with me… but it's what I'm best at. Serving others." The psychiatrist couldn't help but feel somewhat sorry for her.

"You need to put yourself first sometimes Yayoi. I understand you're a maid, but that doesn't mean others can abuse your position." She thought on this again.

"It's hard to draw that line without seeming disorderly."

"Fair point… but still, just think for yourself sometimes, ok?" He insisted.

"I can try…" she said, unsure of herself as she looked down at her hands and finally slipped into the water fully. They didn't share any further conversation for a while and just spent their time swimming together. It was pretty good, all things considered. They were joined later by Akari and Gina, having finished their gym sessions. They took their time swimming.

"You know." Began Akari as she resurfaced from the shallow end of the pool. "We should do more group stuff." She went on to suggest.

"Why?" Asked Gina.

"It'd bring us closer as a group, wouldn't it?" she argued her point. "And if we're closer, no more murders may happen, right?" It was a solid point. Finding something they could all do together would be difficult though, but Jinsei decided to keep it in mind, just in case. After a good few minutes and all were ready to get dry, they headed back and got changed, meeting up outside the changing rooms.

"Master Jinsei?" Yayoi began.

"Yayoi, please, you can just call me Jinsei." He assured her.

"Well, alright… Jinsei, I'd like to know, is it true there's no camera in the therapy room?" Jinsei nodded. "If so… perhaps we can discuss plans in there, for particular things?" she suggested. Jinsei sort of got what she was talking about. If there was anything they wanted to keep secret from Monokuma, like an escape plan or discovering things about the school. It brought him back for a moment to how Monokuma said there was a sixteenth student hidden in the school…

(Faithwood Academy – Jinsei's room – Day 04 – 22:00)

After their talk, Jinsei and Yayoi had gone to the dining hall and they'd made dinner. Jinsei insisted on helping for a change and the meal went down fairly well. There was a point where Daisuke had started choking, only to be saved by Akari and a firm slap on the back, not that he'd thanked her for it. Now he was back in his room, sitting at his desk, paper and pencil at the ready.

"Dear Juchika

I like to think that those past days were a storm cloud settling over the academy, which has now moved on to a brighter day. Everyone was very dismal because of the class trial, even when we had a new floor to explore. It took a bit but I like to think I've gotten everyone back together again

The therapy room has no cameras. That's good for me, since I can interview and help people get over their problems like with Furostomi today. It also means we might be able to start thinking on our escape from this academy. Even if we are a team once again, I'd prefer not to be stuck in this academy. If only it weren't for Arkus, escape probably wouldn't be an issue.

I wonder if we could-"

He stopped writing as he heard a knock at his door. He went over and opened it, but no-one was there. He did however find a small piece of paper lying in front of his door. Jinsei plucked it and began to read it. The note read in red ink

"You're next."

Jinsei never finished his letter to Juchika after that. He crumpled the paper and locked his door tight, slipping into bed and trying not to think about it. But now the idea had been planted and a sprout of terror had begun to germinate inside of him.

Someone was after his head.


	8. What does courage mean - Day 5

Danganronpa: Despair unbound

Chapter 2: What does courage mean

Day 05

(Faithwood Academy – Jinsei's room – Day 05 –8:00)

The nightmare's returned full force. But this time, Jinsei did not get to witness the deaths of his fellows. This time Jinsei was subjected to his own death. A figure was chasing him, a figure brandishing a horrific axe as he ran through a cemetery, the hands of the deceased rising from the ground to grab at his ankles and hold him still, even as he scrambled on the ground. As he looked down at the ground, the gravestones beside him belonged to both Hanako and Shou as their rotten arms and gnarled decaying faces stained his vision as they clutched at him tightly. Finally, the figure caught up to him, raised its weapon and in one swift movement, struck his head from his shoulders in a flash of hot pain.

And then he awoke, sitting bolt upright with a fresh coat of sweat staining his hair and face. He looked around his room to reassure himself he was safe in his room. He was. No, no he wasn't. He was reminded of that when his eyes traced across those words he received last night.

"You're next."

After a long cold shower, Jinsei made his way to breakfast. Most of the students were already there; the exceptions of Kasper, Haruo and Kiyonari were absent. He sat down shakily and starting eating. To his left, Akari noticed the fear in his eyes

"Jinsei-kun? Are you alright?" she asked, peering over at him. Jinsei shook slightly and shot her a wry smile.

"Y-yeah… just had a nightmare is all." He assured her, continuing to pick at his food.

"Looks like it's worse than just a nightmare." She continued.

"I say indeed!" Yakusha added. "You look as if you've seen the ghost of king Hamlet!"

"It's not so bad, really…" he insisted, even though he knew his face betrayed his words. Akari frowned.

"Jinsei, you told us we all needed to be open with each other. So you need to be open with us too." Akari didn't bullshit him. It was true; Jinsei couldn't be quiet about this with them if he asked them to be open with him too. It was the first rule of being a psychiatrist. He sighed slightly and looked back up to Yakusha and Akari. Out of most of the group, these two he trusted the most. They weren't crazy and they were trustworthy, having proven they were at least just individuals. Aside from Yayoi who was working, he trusted them.

"Alright… just, come back to my room with me and I'll show you." He assured the two as they left the breakfast table and went back to Jinsei's room. He showed them the note as the two exchanged glances. Worried glances.

"You say you found this last night?" Yakusha queried.

"Yes… someone knocked my door and ran after dropping it." Jinsei said, turning over the paper. "I didn't catch them." The firefighter and the actor looked concerned.

"I'd hope this is some form of jape… but considering the things this academy does." Yakusha noted.

"Agreed… this is bad." Akari added. "But… we'd best not tell the others. Anyone we tell might take that as reason to… do that." The three gulped collectively. The idea that someone was still willing to kill was chilling.

"Alright… I'll continue talking to people… try and keep everyone calm." Jinsei nodded. He was glad for the secrecy between the three. He had to trust someone in this damned academy.

(Faithwood Academy – Stairwell – Day 05 – 9:20)

Jinsei was headed up toward the therapy room. He wanted to get it set up so he could talk to some more people. With the addition of the note, he wanted to make sure he could get everyone on the same page and possibly find out who was out to get him. He had theories but little more than that at this point. At the top of the stairwell, he encountered Haruo and Kasper, talking.

"I just don't get it." Haruo was saying, scratching the back of his head.

"It's going to happen. Deny it all you want, it's happened once." Kasper rebutted as Haruo seemed hesitant to argue. "All I'm saying is we prepare for the worst."

"I guess…" Haruo nodded. Jinsei hummed a bit. Kasper was always a suspicious individual. Was it possible he sent the note to unnerve him? Considering he was a hunter, he probably had some knowledge about psychological tricks to fool people.

"In any case, we'll enact it tomorrow. It might just get us some answers." Kasper continued, coming back down the stairwell as Jinsei passed them. He took a note of their conversation once they were gone and headed out toward the therapy room. On his way, he passed the studio and heard some commotion from inside.

"So, how exactly can you keep up that act?" Said a familiar voice. Peeking through the door, Jinsei spotted Yakusha conversing with Cosmic Man.

"Act? What do you mean, citizen?" Asked Cosmic Man, standing firm.

"Well, the whole heroism shtick. It's very convincing, how can you stay in character like that constantly?" Cosmic Man toppled over backwards before rising angrily.

"Act?! You think my words of justice and truth are an act! How foolish you are citizen!" he roared, striking poses. "For it is only through the continuous pursuit of validity and strength that evil will be dissuaded, and in such a high school of corruption and horror, it is only-" The masked hero finally stopped when he realized Yakusha had bailed from the conversation and ran from the room. Assuming he was alone, the hero ceased his posing and ranting and seemed to sigh slightly. Jinsei was shocked, seeing a new side to the costumed vigilante. Maybe it was time to get him talking…

"You sound depressed." Jinsei said as he entered the room, surprising the hero. He quickly tried to collect himself.

"N-no worries citizen! I-I am still the mighty hero of truth, justice a-" He started ranting.

"Cut it out." Jinsei cut him off sharply. "I saw you sigh. I want to know what's up." He continued, piercing questions cutting through the hero's shield. He dropped the poses and stood still, looking at Jinsei.

"Alright… yes, I don't feel good today." He admitted, speaking much more casually than usual, no pose striking or anything.

"You want to talk about it? I can help." Jinsei assured him, still unsure of himself as to why he felt so much responsibility for the people around him. The hero didn't seem fully convinced, but as he looked at his hands and sighed again, he seemed to agree.

"In the therapy room though. This is just between us." Jinsei nodded, secrecy was usually important during therapy sessions, especially one with an individual who wanted to hide his identity.

(Faithwood Academy – Therapy room – Day 05 – 10:00)

It was an odd sight. The psychiatrist talking to the costumed super hero lying stretched out on the sofa. Jinsei would've liked to take a picture just to verify the situation.

"So, tell me what's on your mind. Everything in here is confidential." Jinsei began, readying his notebook. The hero looked down at his hands, as he seemed to be thinking about how to say it.

"…Even without the showboating." Cosmic Man began. "I have a strong belief in justice and honor. It's something I hoped to never break." He went on as Jinsei wrote it down.

"I'm aware, so why has that got you down?" Jinsei tried to steer the conversation toward reasoning. The hero twiddled his thumbs.

"I defended someone who was guilty in that courtroom. Of murder." He continued, seeming to grit his teeth beneath the helmet. Jinsei raised an eyebrow in surprise. "How am I supposed to call myself a hero in a place like this? With that vile bear and his guard and possibly defending guilty people in that courtroom." Jinsei sighed slightly. The same applied to all of them. Stuck in here, there really wasn't much of a right or wrong.

"You couldn't have known." Jinsei assured him. "You saw Hanako as an innocent girl… and no-one blames you for that." He continued as Cosmic Man titled his head, staring at him. "Even now it's hard to believe but I understand why you did what you did."

"Do you though?" Cosmic Man questioned. "I went through a lot to be a hero… I feel I've wasted that through this place." He sighed again, crossing his legs.

"How did you become a hero?" Jinsei asked, hoping to steer the conversation onto a more positive note. Cosmic Man gazed at the ceiling and seemed a mite happier as he remembered.

"I remember… I used to watch a lot of super heroes on TV. I loved it so much… these people who did so much good and saved people's lives." He began, as a wistful sigh of nostalgia escaped his lips. "I wanted to be like them… everyone thought I was crazy for it." He chuckled wryly. "But I took it seriously. I took martial arts classes. Ju Jitsu, Taekwondo, Karate. I worked out at the gym, did some free running… and then one day I just started being the hero I wanted to be. I fought people unarmed… and they loved me." He continued as Jinsei noted it down some more.

"Is that why you're always in character? You don't want to let go of the side of you that is a hero?" Cosmic Man nodded again.

"Yes. Is it better to live as a hero or to live as your meek alter ego?" Cosmic Man rebutted. It made sense as far as Jinsei could tell, writing more notes down.

"That does make sense. But you find it stressful to constantly act that way, don't you?" asked Jinsei, drawing his conclusion from the prior notes.

"Somewhat… I love being a hero. But at the same time… well, you said it. " he agreed with a nod. Jinsei smiled as he noted it down some more.

"Well, thank you for talking with me. Do you feel any better?" asked Jinsei. The hero sat up and nodded slightly.

"Thanks Jinsei. You're a valiant friend." The hero nodded and exited the room, as Jinsei watched him with a smile, feeling he'd done some good that day.

(Faithwood Academy – School grounds – Day 05 – 11:00)

Jinsei took a break for a while and went for a walk in the academy's garden. Arkus was on duty as usual, remaining motionless by the gate. Jinsei wondered for a moment if he'd fallen asleep, but a twitch of his neck made him sure he was awake. He walked over the grass and toward the shed. He spotted the small garden growing beside it and sighed slightly. The flowers Hanako had planted did look particularly radiant… and the bed was free of weeds. He stopped briefly to look over them, thinking of her. But something drew him away as he heard shouting.

"You fucking dense irrational!" shouted the voice, most likely belonging to Daisuke. Following the noise, he found him behind the school building, talking to Cho who was for once not writing in her book. Daisuke had taken it.

"D-daisuke! Give me my book back!" she was shouting, trying to take it from him.

"I know you wrote some shit about me!" he retorted, bouncing backward while flipping through the book. "I want to see what it is!"

"Give it back!" she cried out again as she chased him, unable to reclaim her property. This went on for a few minutes until Daisuke happened to find something that sent him fuming.

"I knew you wrote something! You saying I'm egotistical you scrawny little radian?!" he shouted at her, teeth clenched and fists ready to hit her.

"I-I don't know! I can't remember!" Jinsei sighed a little. Cho's affliction really was bad… Before the insults could continue, he spotted someone approaching from the other end of the garden.

"Daisuke!" shouted Akari as she approached. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Daisuke flinched and glared at her.

"Fuck off you flame headed fuckwit! This has nothing to do with you!" he shouted angrily, which only seemed to piss Akari off further.

"Give Cho back her book right now or you'll be sorry." She threatened, raising her fists. Daisuke took her up on the offer and threw the book to the ground, charging at her. The two brawled for a bit with Akari clearly being the better of the two, scoring several hits to Daisuke's chest and face. With one particularly strong strike, a crunch was heard as Daisuke stumbled over, holding his now bleeding nose.

"You fucking m-minus!" he shouted. "You broke my damn nose!" Akari was unimpressed.

"I'll break your nose next if you don't get going." She threatened. The mathematician took the hint and skittered off, dabbing his nose with his jacket as he headed for the infirmary. Akari sighed slightly as she looked over to Cho.

"You ok?" she asked, smiling again as Cho reclaimed her book.

"Y-yes, thank you." She returned the sentiment. Akari then turned to look at Jinsei, smiling coyly.

"Enjoy the show?" Jinsei scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry… should've stepped in sooner." He admitted sheepishly.

"Nah forget it. Daisuke needed a wake up call anyway." She assured him with a genuine smile. "By the way… about that note." Jinsei's curiosity was piqued as he looked at her.

"Yes?"

"I might have a lead but I'm not sure…" she continued, looking around as if suspicious of something. "I can't say right now, someone might hear us." Jinsei would've questioned her, but he spotted Kiyonari through the window of one of the classrooms, mopping up as usual. "I'll meet you in the therapy room tomorrow at 10, ok? We can talk about it then." Jinsei was about to question her, but something interrupted him. The school's intercom system went off as their principal spoke to them.

"Attention. All students are to report to the gym immediately. Thank you." The bear was quick and to the point as the three outside went indoors to the gym.

(Faithwood academy – Gymnasium – Day 05 – 12:00)

The students gathered in the gym. Glancing around, Jinsei spotted Daisuke with a bandage over his nose, still being tweaked at by Yayoi. He also spotted Kasper mumbling something to Haruo. He grew ever more suspicious of those two. Their attention was then drawn to the front as their principal bounced up.

"Good day everybody! How're you doing?!" the bear asked rhetorically, because Jinsei was certain it was aware of the growing hate for it in the gym. After a few seconds of painful silence, the bear continued to speak. "Anyway, you're probably wondering why I called ya all here! Well, I have a very special announcement for you all about a little pet project of mine!" He announced, cackling and bouncing on his paws.

"What kind of pet project?" Asked Kasper daringly.

"I'm glad you asked! Here it is!" he continued as he produced something from behind his back. It was a small thin comic book covered in bright garish colors and big bulging titles. From his position, Jinsei could make out 'Super duper despair school: Tales of the wretches!' Monokuma grinned and hopped up and down. "Do you like it? It's the very first Faithwood academy comic book! And it's all about you guys!" The group stared at him confused.

"About us? Why would you make a comic book about us?" questioned Haruo, scratching his ear.

"Well, here's a little thing about this comic book! Not only is it about you guys, it has one juicy little dark secret about all of you." That struck a sharp tone with each of them. "And since they're dead, I'll prove it by reading out Hanako and Shou, shall we?" the lot of them gasped as Monokuma flipped open the comic book to two specific pages. "Seems little Hanako was horrifically abused by her dad! No wonder she was so crazy underneath!" he cackled as he hopped about and the crowd gasped as he unearthed such a harsh secret. "And it seems like Shou couldn't jump a single hurdle when he tried it!Hah that's hilarious!" the bear cackled as he flapped his arms a bit.

"W-why are you d-d-d-doing this?" piped up Furostomi timidly. The bear returned to standing normally and leered out over the students.

"Point is, this is a little warning. If I don't see any murder happening in the next two days, you can expect fresh copies of this comic all over the school, and all those secrets will come out! So either make peace with yourself now, or pick a target!" the bear cackled again as he stuck his arms out and fell backward, disappearing.

"T-this is absurd!" Taro said as his cheeks ballooned as if he were a frog. "He can't just use our secrets against us like this!"

"I think he just did." Daisuke grumbled with a grunt of annoyance from the stuffy tenor, seemingly wondering exactly what secret the bear had on him. In fact, that thought made Jinsei wonder too. How DID this bear know about their pasts and their deepest secrets for that matter?

Jinsei was worried. His idea of using the therapy room to get everyone on the same page was going to be smashed if someone got worried about their secret. He wasn't going to underestimate this. Secrets were enough to drive people to kill. And Jinsei didn't want any more deaths.

"Everyone." Jinsei started, addressing the group. "Mabe it's best we all share our secrets now. If we harbor them, it will only result in murder." But despite being the voice of reason, no one seemed ready to comply.

"I dunno…" Haruo mumbled. "I don't want to…"

"Telling you guys is like calculating pi's last digit. Impossible!" Daisuke spat, leaving the room and adjusting his nose patch slightly. Akari sighed over Daisuke's usual attitude problems.

"The bait is sweetened… the bear is indeed cunning." Noted Kasper with a nod and a ghoulish grin.

"Most dishonorable…" agreed Gina as she turned to Kasper. "But is it possible you could cease your glee over this situation?" Kasper turned and cocked an eyebrow.

"Glee? Whatever do you mean?" he questioned her.

"Nothing seems to phase you. In fact you seem to enjoy this situation we're in." Gina continued accusingly as Kasper seemed unfazed.

"Perhaps I am enjoying this. I'm a hunter, I love the thrill of the chase. But make no mistake…" Kasper tipped his hat up as he looked deadly serious. "I will not rest until the one behind all of this is holding his guts in his hands and is begging for mercy." And with that he turned on his heels and headed out, the meek Haruo following behind him. Gina seemed visibly disgusted at his behavior.

"Calm down, fellow warrior." Cosmic Man assured her, resting a hand on her shoulder. "He hungers for justice as we all do… he just has a funny way of showing it."

Funny is right, Jinsei thought.

(Faithwood Academy – Dining room – Day 05 – 17:00)

Tensions were high at the dinner table. Yayoi had prepared beef bowls at special request from Akari. Something she thought would help lighten everyone's spirits. But no-one was happy. Shifty eyes darted back and forth across the table as everyone was worried. Monokuma's little announcement had given everyone an incentive. And Jinsei knew a killer still lurked among them, hand clasping on the note in his pocket.

Kiyonari's dishcloth swept over the table as she cleaned up a spot of spilled sauce. Taro's cheeks puffed slightly as he glared with disdain as Kasper, who simply grinned. Cho's pen was shaking in her hand as she had nothing to write, but she seemed eager. Furostomi shivered beside her as Haruo scratched the back of his head worryingly. Yakusha kept one hand on Yorick as his gaze swept up and down the table.

Jinsei sighed and rested his head in his hands, feeling all his work had been undone that day thanks to their principal. He could help everyone at the table, but their headmaster knew just how to turn them back against each other again. The disquiet around the table was near nauseating.

"Guys… I think we should-" Jinsei tried to begin before he was cut off by Kasper.

"No, Jinsei. Your therapy mumbo jumbo isn't going to diffuse this situation." He stated simply, not angrily or even like he was worried.

"Kasper, it-" he tried to argue.

"Just stick a pi in it." Daisuke spat, grumbling. "We're all being hung by our necks here, no psychological analysis is going to change that!" With that outburst, Daisuke got up and stormed out of the room.

"Daisuke!" Akari called after him and followed him out into the hall with a stomp in her step.

"This is simply ridiculous! I cannot stand this!" Taro bellowed, flipping over his empty bowl and followed their example of marching out of the room. One by one the group dispersed and returned to their rooms, echoing some comment about hating their situation or the like. Soon the only ones left were Furostomi, Cosmic Man, Jinsei and Yayoi. Yayoi was cleaning up the table as Cosmic Man looked over at Jinsei.

"Fear not citizen… I feel tomorrow will be a brighter day." He assured him as he went back to his room, trailed by Furostomi. Jinsei got up too, sighing slightly. As he was about to leave, Yayoi suddenly stopped him. She was holding a little square box.

"What's this?" Jinsei asked, taking it.

"It's just something to cheer you up." Yayoi assured him with a nod. "I baked it with Cho earlier if you want to check it's not poisoned." Jinsei hoped that was a joke as he returned to his room with the little box. It was a nice bit of sentiment… but seeing as Yayoi was a maid, Jinsei couldn't help but wonder if she was doing this out of kindness or out of her role…

(Faithwood Academy – Jinsei's room – Day 05 – 22:00)

"Dear Juchika

It's amazing how quick you can feel your efforts are in vain. I tried working through more of the students today to try and make the atmosphere here more palatable… but our principal has managed to turn my work on it's head and everyone was glaring during dinner again.

It's days like this I feel I'm sitting in a group of time bombs, each one ticking down and about to go off at any moment… and take all of us with them.

Tomorrow I must redouble my efforts. Try and keep an eye on everyone. I won't let anyone else die, not as long as I can possibly help the others…

I don't know why I feel so responsible for the others… every time I think about it, I feel like there's static buzzing in my brain, cutting me off from something about them. I can't puzzle it out for the life of me… I wish you could help.

…I don't even know if I'll ever see you again."

Jinsei stopped writing for a moment to open the box Yayoi had given him. Inside was a small chocolate brownie. He plucked it and took a bite… his tongue was enriched with the strong sweet flavors of deep chocolate and soft sponge. The whole thing was gone before he could stop himself. He continued writing.

"No. I can't think that way now. Someone has to be strong for this group. And if that has to be me, so be it. I'll keep my strength and see this through to the end… even if someone has it out for me.

Yours truly, Jinsei Gushiken."

Licking his lips slightly, Jinsei filed the letter away and slipped into bed, his thoughts were oddly upbeat. Tomorrow would be brighter. He was certain of it.


	9. What does courage mean - Day 6

Danganronpa: Despair unbound

Chapter 2: What does courage mean

Day 06

(Faithwood Academy – Jinsei's room – Day 06 –8:00)

Jinsei had a particularly odd dream that night. He couldn't quite remember it, but he was skiing down a massive mountain made of chocolate, and before he knew what was happening Furostomi went skiing past her while Cosmic Man flew overhead, chasing a fleeing Daisuke. When he woke up he felt dizzy to no end. Who would've thought eating a brownie could net you dreams like that. Jinsei briefly wondered if Yayoi DID lace the brownie with something.

He trudged to breakfast and did a quick head count. Thankfully, everybody was present so Jinsei could rest assured no one died during the night. Jinsei sat down with everyone. For some reason, the atmosphere didn't feel as tense that morning as it did last night.

Like everyone had lightened up slightly.

"Everyone." Gina began, addressing the group. "I suggest we do something as a group today." The group turned to look at her.

"Why's that?" Asked Cho, making a note in her book.

"We're drifting apart as a group." Akari pointed out quickly. "If we can find some way to bond as a group, we'll get along better."

"Yeah, maybe…" Daisuke mumbled through a mouthful of food.

"What did you have in mind?" Kiyonari leaned over the table slightly as she asked.

"Well, why not swimming? We could have a pool day together." Gina suggested. There were a few murmurs of consent around the group.

"Be careful fellows, Furostomi might freeze the water!" Yakusha joked well naturedly, patting the shy skier on the shoulder as a few others around the table laughed. Taro just sort of made some harrumph noise and continued eating. Jinsei laughed too. It was good to enjoy everyone's company again.

"Perhaps I should prepare a special lunch today then sirs?" Yayoi suggested as she'd mostly kept out of conversation.

"That sounds good." Akari nodded. "Maybe Yakisoba?"

"We're not at a festival, Akari." Kiyonari butted in to which the firefighter frowned.

"I'd be fine preparing that." Yayoi nodded with her usual pleasant smile.

"Are you sure?" Asked Cho, concerned. "I mean I've not got any notes on you ever refusing someone, Yayoi…"

"I am fine doing the work, sirs. It's my duty." She nodded again. Cosmic Man nodded profusely.

"She's good at what she does, just like all of us." That was something nice to think about, Jinsei pondered. They were all here for being the best, even in such a despairing situation like this. Maybe there was hope for them after all…

"Cosmic Man." Began Gina, looking to him. "I wish to do battle with you again sometime today." The hero looked over to the katanaka and nodded.

"I would be fine with that, my righteous foe! But perhaps after we visit the pool, I will feel more vigorous then." The two agreed on it and shook hands over the breakfast table.

(Faithwood academy – Gym corridor – Day 06 – 8:45)

After breakfast, Jinsei made a brief trip back to his room to freshen up a bit in his bathroom and then headed for the stairwell to head to the second floor. He wanted to get things set up for his meeting with Akari later. On his way he happened to pass by Kiyonari who was looking far more troubled than usual.

"Kiyonari?" he asked as he passed. The janitor sighed slightly.

"Oh. You noticed. That's rare." She complained with a grumble. Jinsei decided to ignore it for now.

"You look upset. Is something wrong?" The janitor rolled her eyes slightly.

"I can't find my mop and bucket. I've been looking since breakfast and they're nowhere I've left them." She said. Jinsei spotted it now. Usually Kiyonari kept her mop in the strap on her back, but today it was absent. "You've not seen it, have you?" she asked a touch protectively.

"No, can't say I have. If I do see it, I'll let you know." Kiyonari nodded slightly, her usual frosty personality lifting for a moment as Jinsei could swear he saw her crack a smile. But it quickly faded and she went onward, as did he.

Briefly peeking into the gymnasium, he spotted Gina, helmet on and taking practice strikes on a training dummy with her wooden sword. She seemed psyched up as she hacked away at the cloth doll, the strikes echoing around the large room. He also comically noticed that she'd drawn the crude face of Monokuma onto the dummy. Jinsei chuckled at that; glad she was finding some small way to rebel against their headmaster.

He made it to the stairwell and headed up it to the second floor. He was making his way to the therapy room when he suddenly heard something loud going on in the studio. He peered inside and spotted Taro and Yakusha, shouting at one another. With a groan, Jinsei realized they seemed to be having some form of musical acting competition.

Taro was on one side putting all his vocal chords into singing an aria from some old play and Yakusha was joining in with other parts of the song, his voice not as loud as the tenor but they seemed to be doing well together. It warmed Jinsei's heart a little. Everyone was getting on so much better than before.

Jinsei opened the door to the therapy room and took his seat on his usual armchair, getting out his notepad and read through is notes whilst he waited for the time he and Akari agreed on for their meeting.

(Faithwood academy – Therapy room – Day 06 – 10:20)

Jinsei drummed his fingers on the arm of the chair impatiently. He checked his watch a few times. It was definitely a good few minutes past the allocated time now. He was getting a touch impatient. It wasn't like Akari to be late like this, considering how she usually was.

It had been a good half hour since Yakusha and Taro had stopped singing. Just him and silence for a good half hour. It was agonizing.

Finally he rose to his feet and decided to go hunt down Akari himself, quickly leaving the therapy room and headed down the corridor, passing the studio and going for the stairs. Once downstairs he began to think of where he'd find Akari around this time. Furostomi passed him as he was thinking and he shared a little word with her asking where Akari was. He said he hadn't seen her for a while.

Jinsei wandered around the hallways looking for Akari. He felt a bit like a child wandering around this big empty school in the search of some flickering silhouette. It was uncomfortable to say the least. The rustic appeal of the school had long since worn off and now he was starting to feel like he was trapped in a dungeon.

"Jinsei?" He heard a familiar voice peeping out of the dining room. It was Cho.

"Oh, hey Cho. Have you seen Akari?" The archivist hummed and opened up her book, looking through it.

"Last I saw Akari, she was leaving the dining room and going past the boiler room… I might've seen her since then, but I don't remember." Jinsei rubbed his forehead slightly.

"This is kind of worrying… we were supposed to meet up and she's not there." Jinsei pondered. Cho patted his shoulder.

"Probably best not to assume the worst… right?" Cho weakly assured him, being unsure herself. The two decided to stick together as they looked around to find the illusive Akari, even checking outside to find her. Under the watchful eye of Arkus they checked around the gardens and around the wall. With no further luck, they went back indoors.

"You guys looking for something?" Said a familiar voice as the re-entered. Akari was standing at the door clear as day, looking at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Akari! I was looking all over for you… you missed our meeting so I got worried." Jinsei explained, breathing a sigh of relief that she was ok.

"Meeting? What meeting?" she asked, scratching her head.

"Today at 10… you wanted to tell me something…" Jinsei said, wondering if Cho's amnesiac tendencies were contagious.

"Well, forget about it. Sorry." She shrugged and went off on her way. Jinsei was about to question it further when Cho just shook her head at him. There was no point hounding her if she didn't want to speak. A psychiatrist should always remember that.

(Faithwood Academy – Dining room – Day 06 – 11:00)

Jinsei was hanging out in the kitchen, making chit chat with Akari who was getting her supplies ready to cook the Yakisoba for lunch. Jinsei insisted to help her out here and there at least somewhat, despite the maid's assurance that she didn't need his help. They were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Haruo, shockingly not trailing Kasper for once.

"Uh hey Jinsei. I was looking for you." He started, scratching his chest slightly.

"You need me for something Haruo?" Jinsei queried, quick to extract the information. Haruo looked at his feet and scuffed them back and forth.

"Well kinda… sorta…" he rambled, trying to avoid eye contact with him. "I thought… you hold like… therapy sessions, right?" Jinsei nodded in reply. "W-well… could I maybe have one? I dunno…" he rambled.

"Of course. Let's head up." Jinsei agreed with a smile. Haruo seemed to relax a bit as they headed for the stairwell, Cho tagging along by his side. They headed upstairs, past the studio and to the door of the therapy room. Grasping the handle, Jinsei pulled the door open… and his jaw dropped. Haruo and Cho stared in horror at the sight that befell their eyes.

Someone was lying limp on the therapy sofa, lying on their front, legs lying across the sofa, arms dangling over either side of it. Out of the person's back, a rather large knife was plunged into a red gaping wound, the person's head lying on its side. Even though they could not see their face, nor the state of their body, there was no denying it. The three in the room came to the same conclusion all at once. Cosmic Man, the super duper high school level hero, was dead.

Even as the three stared at the limp corpse of the once active hero, the voice of their principal rang over the intercom system, his face appearing in the TV screens across the school.

"We got another body, folks! After a little time we'll be holding another fantastic class trial, so get to work!" The screens turned off as the reality of the situation finally struck home. Cho clung to Jinsei's arm and started crying into his shoulder whilst Haruo backed off and just held his arms, staring to the floor. Jinsei merely gulped and shut his eyes, holding a hand to his forehead. He'd done his best to stop this happening again… but in the end it had done nothing. Now they were faced with another murder and another killer amongst them.

(Time until trial – 1:30:00)

(Faithwood Academy – 2F Therapy room – Day 06 – 11:10)

Once Cho and Haruo had calmed down, Cho opted to go downstairs and get everyone else to come see the crime scene. No-one seemed to have stumbled across them yet. Haruo stuck with Jinsei as the psychiatrist got out his notebook. He knew what he had to do. Even as nausea brewed in his stomach and prepared to launch out of his throat, he had to be strong. The only way they could avenge the fallen hero was to find his killer. And while he was alone, he might as well investigate. First, he took out his electroID and checked the Monokuma files on this new case.

Victim: Cosmic Man  
Time of death: 10:25 AM

The corpse was discovered in the therapy room on the second floor.

Cause of death: Stab wound in the back

Jinsei raised an eyebrow when he saw the time of death. The time was exactly five minutes after he'd left the room to go find Akari. Had someone really killed him in here literally five minutes after he left? How was that possible? Worse still, Jinsei worried that this might paint him as a suspect to the others when they found this out. That couldn't happen. It'd just waste time in the class trial.

Jinsei started by hunting around the room, mostly because he didn't want to examine the corpse yet. He checked under the sofa and around the chairs, but there was nothing he could find of particular interest. But that in and of itself made him wonder. The scene was clean, not a single drop of blood on the floor or on the furniture or on the walls. How could someone have been murdered in this room without leaving any blood… then again?

Jinsei stood back up and examined the corpse. He opened up the tear in the back of the suit to get a closer look at the wound. Cosmic Man's back had a clear dried bloodstain on it, yet his clothes were bone dry. Jinsei made a note of it as he continued to inspect the body. He decided not to remove Cosmic Man's helmet, no need to take away his identity now that he was dead. But as he continued to examine the body, he began to notice something. Certain parts of the suit had been padded out in places, especially around the stomach, legs, groin and chest. Jinsei shrugged it off and assumed it was just to keep the hero safe in battle.

Finally, there was the weapon itself. Jinsei was trying to theorize exactly where that weapon could've come from. None of the kitchen knives were that big and could someone have really gotten it up here without someone noticing it? But then as he gripped the handle, something felt off about the weapon. It felt oddly… light in his hand. He tapped the blade slightly as a dull empty thud rung out. Almost like the knife was… plastic.

That was it, Jinsei thought, taking a note. The knife in Cosmic Man's back was a fake. Now if he could just think of where someone would get a knife like that…

It was around this time that the other students decided to arrive and Jinsei backed off the crime scene. Gina was especially troubled by the death as she bowed to the body of her fallen comrade. Akari also seemed fairly put off by the body.

"You will be well remembered…" Gina assured Cosmic Man.

"At least we can get some peace at last." Daisuke muttered aloud.

"The nerve of you!" Yakusha snapped at him. "Have some respect for the dead…" Akari shrugged behind him. The rest of the group stood there and continued to think of what to do, but Jinsei had a plan. He had a theory concerning this murder as he headed down the hall to confirm it.

(Time until trial – 1:00:13)

(Faithwood Academy – 2F Studio – Day 06 – 11:40)

Opening the door to the studio, Jinsei peered inside. The room seemed untouched for the most part. But if that prop knife really did come from this room, there had to be some clues left behind somewhere.

Jinsei first went to the storage cupboard and opened it up. Sure enough, the costume box had been left pretty unkempt, as if someone had been quickly rooting through it. Jinsei made a note of it. In the corner of the room he spied something that didn't belong. It was a mop stuck in a bucket of water, Kiyonari's mop most likely. Jinsei checked the water in the bucket. It was murky and still cold, so he could tell it had been used recently. He jotted it down before doing a quick search of the storage room. Nothing else really stuck out to him.

Thinking on the mop, Jinsei figured that someone must've used it recently. And since the therapy room carpet was bone dry, maybe they used it in the studio. He headed back out of the cupboard to check it out. He hunted around the bare looking studio and started pulling back some of the curtains. Behind one he found himself, bearing several large splits down his face and body. In reality, the mirror on the wall had been broken and now several large jagged shards lay at the bottom of it. Jinsei noted it down as his suspicions grew. He kneeled and rooted through the mirror shards for a moment looking for any traces of anything that might give him further clues. Alas, he had no luck. The floor was actually much cleaner around the mirror than any other part of the room…

That thought suddenly clicked in Jinsei's mind. A section of the floor that had been cleaned? Perhaps that meant something happened over by this mirror that had to be cleaned up... something like murder, perhaps. He made another note and did another sweep of the studio. Finding nothing else, he exited the room.

The others were still gathered around the body, asking questions to one another and trying to examine the body. Among those questions, one in particular happened to stand out to him.

"Has anyone seen Furostomi?" Asked Akari as she was looking around concernedly. The little skier was not among their group. Jinsei thought about it quickly. He remembered passing Furostomi earlier that day whens he was going upstairs. It had been a while since then but maybe she was still on the second floor? Jinsei didn't have any other leads for the moment, so Furostomi was probably his best bet at this point.

(Time until trial – 0:45:43)

(Faithwood Academy – 2F Exercise gym – Day 06 – 11:55)

Jinsei had searched most of the second floor by this point. The classrooms had been empty, he already knew she wasn't in the therapy room nor the studio, and now the pool and gym were also empty. There was one final area he could check for her, but fearing the worst, he at least made sure to knock first.

"Furostomi?" he asked as he knocked on the door of the girls changing room. He daren't go in, who knows what kind of punishment he'd get by Monokuma's twisted rules.

"…J-Jinsei? I-is that you?" a small voice peeped from inside. The door slid open as the shivering little skier stood before the psychiatrist, seeming far shakier than usual.

"Are you ok? What were you doing in there?" Jinsei queried as he knelt a bit, to seem less intimidating. The girl shied away from him, hugging her arms.

"I…s-sorry… I j-j-just… was scared-d-d…" she muttered, rubbing her hands together to try and warm herself up a bit. Jinsei cocked an eyebrow.

"Scared? Of what?" He probed further but the skier only clammed up further, not speaking any more about it to him. "Furostomi, you know you can tell me, right?" He assured her. But the skier shook her head.

"N…not about t-t-this…" and with that she turned tail and ran back into the changing rooms. Jinsei was tempted to follow, but knowing this place, it was best not to break any rules. Still, he wondered why Furostomi would be acting so strangely. Could she have… no that couldn't be it… right?

(Time until trial – 0:20:31)

(Faithwood academy – Dining room – Day 06 – 12:20)

Jinsei had left most of the others to their own investigations and gone back downstairs to assess the situation on his own and come up with his plan for the class trial. That and… he still didn't like the fact that there was another body upstairs. How could anyone stand it? He wasn't even sure how he could be remaining so calm… it was his psychiatric training, most likely. Knowing when to keep a level head in times of pressure. But this was more than pressure. This was like being trapped on the ocean floor with the whole weight of the water crushing down on you. No escape. No light. No freedom. Just the pressure.

He'd decided to distance himself from the others deliberately. As much as he wanted to help them, he knew one of them was a killer. He couldn't afford to get closer to anyone right now lest the unthinkable should happen.

But apparently that wasn't going to happen as Yayoi soon joined him. She took a seat beside him and said nothing for a while before finally deciding to break the ice.

"Master Jinsei." She began as always. "I know that you think you're doing good amongst the students." Jinsei turned to her and cocked an eyebrow. Was she trying to tell him how to do what he did best?

"What do you mean?" he inquired.

"You feel it, don't you?" She continued. "A feeling of responsibility toward our fellow students." Jinsei's jaw dropped. It was like she'd seen right through him.

"Well… I guess, but it's nothing special." He assured her with a shrug. The maid shook her head.

"I don't believe so. You're actively trying to settle tempers and keep everyone sane. I find it admirable." She continued to explain as Jinsei found himself hanging on her words. "But, may I make a recommendation?" Jinsei tilted his head slightly.

"I guess… but what exactly?" He queried.

"You see students one to one. And I understand why. But, I worry the others might feel you are choosing favourites and it might entice them into more… terrible acts." Jinsei noticed she gulped audibly between those last few utterances. It briefly made him wonder how the maid was doing during all of this despair riddled chaos.

"Meaning what exactly?" he continued.

"Well, I just believe that some group sessions might be a good idea. I notice a number of students are getting on edge with one another… it might form into something worse as time goes by and that bear presents more motives." Jinsei rubbed his chin. Group therapy wasn't unheard of, and considering some of their number, it might be a good idea to settle differences indeed. But at the same time, convincing students like Daisuke to step in for a session were unlikely…

"It might work… I worry about its further implications though. It might upset the nature of this place even more so…" The maid nodded in response.

"I understand, master Jinsei. Just something worth thinking about is all." She rose from her seat and brushed down her dress slightly. "I believe the trial is about to start Master Jinsei… we should go." Jinsei nodded grimly, collected his notes and rose from his seat, following the maid down the halls, her words ringing in his head.

(Time until trial – 0:00:46)

(Faithwood Academy – Elevator – Day 06 – 12:40)

The students were once again gathered by the elevator antechamber, two shorter than their first visit to the courtroom they lay beneath the school. The silence was deafening as each student stood away from one another, bearing the knowledge that someone amongst them had killed the well meaning hero of their school. Once again they would be pitted against one another with only one chance to find the true culprit, lest they all be punished as a result.

Jinsei felt as tense as the first time. He thought going down a second time would make him feel more comfortable, but it really didn't. It was still a life or death situation even if there were less of them this time and they had already experienced this once. Who knows what dark secrets would emerge during this trial. Even now, Hanako's breakdown seemed to be stuck on an endless loop inside his head.

With a harsh juddering clank, the elevator began to sink down into the belly of the dungeon academy. The 12 remaining students shifted as they awaited the doors to open and for their second class trial to begin. The time seemed to drag on deliberately as the elevator continued to go deeper, seconds felt like hours. But finally, the elevator juddered to a halt and the doors swung open to greet the students to their next trial, and possibly their last.


	10. What does courage mean - April fools

Danganronpa: Despair unbound

Chapter 2: What does courage mean

Class trial

(Faithwood Academy – Underground courtroom – Day 06 –12:45)

Jinsei's eyes shot wide open. He had been expecting a redesign of the courtroom of course, but this was just insane. The walls were decorated with pink and had red, yellow and blue balloon pictures peppering it. There were tall handsome marble columns, which had long colorful streamers hanging between them, as well as large banners with words written on them. He began to read them aloud.

"Happy birthday… Jinsei?!" he peered at the banners. Someone suddenly clapped him on the back.

"That's right Jinsei!" said Yakusha with a grin. "It's all for you, my friend!"

"B-but… the trial…" Jinsei stuttered in surprise.

"Hah! Look at this guy, he totally bought it!" laughed Daisuke, nudging him with his elbow.

"Bought… what?" he was growing increasingly confused.

"Jinsei, don't you get it?" Said Akari, smiling sweetly.

"No I don't! What's going on here?!" he said in near panic.

"This has all been a set up, Jinsei-kun!" piped up Cho with another smile. "We've been building up to your birthday, silly goose!" Jinsei thought about it… he had no idea what the date was…could it really be his birthday?

"Now it's time for the cake!" said Taro, snapping his fingers as a massive table rose up out of the middle of the room, with a massive chocolate cake sitting atop it. It looked so sweet and perfect… but Jinsei was still dubious.

"But guys! Our friends! They all died!" he tried to convince them.

"Not so, good citizen!" came a cry from behind him as he turned to face them. And sure enough, Cosmic Man, Hanako and Shou were all standing there, alive and well! Jinsei started stuttering and pointed up at them.

"B-b-b-b-but the corpses!" he said, utterly flabbergasted.

"Just make up and special effects, bud!" Said Daisuke with a smile.

"Yes. I even put on that act in court to convince you." Agreed Hanako, giving Shou a hug mid sentence. Jinsei just blinked again, still unable to believe this was all actually going on.

"But Hanako… you were eaten by a plant!" Hanako shook her head.

"That was all CGI!" said a familiar voice from behind him as Monokuma popped up. "Didn't you notice the sudden animation style change?" Jinsei jumped in surprise as the bear caught him off guard.

"Y-you're in on this too?!" he exclaimed walking backward. The bear stood on his tiptoes.

"That's right!" he exclaimed gleefully, suddenly putting his paws to his neck and removing his own head, revealing that he was actually a midget in a suit! Jinsei's jaw dropped again.

"Y…you were a midget?!"

"That's right! I just dressed up to make myself seem a bit more threatening is all! Sure worked out, huh?" the midget chuckled as he stepped out of the suit.

"…but why go through all this for me?" Jinsei further questioned, scratching his head.

"It's because you're our friend, Jinsei!" claimed Yakusha, patting him on the back again. "We decided that if we could bring you down to the depths of despair just to bring you back up again, it'd make you all the more relieved!" jinsei thought on that. He was pretty relieved thanks to all this… hell, it didn't make much sense, but maybe it was worth it.

"Enough explaining! It's time to cut the cake!" Taro boomed. Jinsei smiled and nodded. If it was his party, he was going to have fun.

The students cut the cake up and had a slice each as some nice atmospheric music began to play in the courtroom. Everyone split off and Jinsei took a bite. Sweet chocolate goodness filled his mouth as he couldn't help but smile, all that stress and depression melting away like ice cream.

He spotted Akari and Daisuke hanging out close to one another, oddly enough getting on well. Jinsei decided to investigate further.

"Hey you two." He said casually.

"Hey Jinsei. Great party, huh?" Akari said sweetly.

"Yeah… question, why are you two holding hands?" he asked. The two looked at each other and smiled.

"Well…you remember the other day after dinner? I stormed out and Akari followed me?" Daisuke started with a sly grin.

"Uh yes? What's that got to do with it?" He queried. Akari started to grin too.

"Well, we argued a lot and we kinda started getting intense about it… and um… well uh…"

"We had hate sex." Daisuke said flatly as Jinsei felt like a glass had just shattered in his head. "Amazing stuff. I mean we practically turned the room into a sauna." Jinsei felt his hands shaking a bit.

"And afterward, we just sort of gravitated. We got all our bitterness out I guess." Akari smiled as she turned to Daisuke and started kissing him passionately, wrapping her arms around his neck in an embrace. Jinsei bailed from the conversation before he could be scared any further.

He spotted Cosmic Man and Gina talking in the corner. Gina was holding some kind of suit in her hands and was looking it over.

"Jinsei!" called out Cosmic Man. "Come over here! We need your opinion on something!" Jinsei approached cocking an eyebrow.

"What for?"

"This suit." Said Gina, showing it to him. It was a suit similar to that of Cosmic Man, but it had a purple hue and it was made to suit a female build.

"Do I dare to ask?" he said, rubbing his temples slightly.

"Gina has asked to join me in my escapades against crime! This is her new suit!" Cosmic man shouted as he held it up to display it properly. "We just need your help on a name. Nebula woman or Galaxy woman?" Jinsei couldn't decide on either, they were both as equally foolish.

"I'm still not certain. What if the people don't accept me?" Asked Gina, looking at her costumed companion.

"Nonsense Gina! You'll do just fine out there!" he assured her with extreme gusto. Gina smiled and nodded proudly. Jinsei felt the situation was getting more and more surreal as it went on so he backed away from them.

"Kasper! S-stop that!" The voice of Haruo distracted him as he spotted the two behind him. Kasper was drawing on his shirt with a marker pen.

"Nah, it's too fun." Kasper snickered as he continued scribbling all over him.

"C-cmon, I gotta wash that!" Haruo chuckled as he backed away, tripping over backward and accidentally spilling a bowl of fruit punch onto Kasper.

"Now I gotta wash that too!" Kasper cackled as the two fell over each other in an overly sappy display. Jinsei found it a little heartwarming as he turned toward the other students to check on them. Furostomi and Cho were standing beside one another. Furostomi was reading something in Cho's book.

"S-so what hap-p-ppens here?" asked Furostomi.

"Well, I think I was gonna have an argument break out that ends in tragedy. I think people would gravitate more toward them that way." She explained. Jinsei wondered if she'd always been writing stories in that book instead of simply writing down their words after all. Jinsei approached and had a look. Inside he saw plans for what looked like a fantasy story.

"Do you like it, Jinsei?" Asked Cho with a sweet smile.

"Yeah… but I always thought you were writing down conversations?" he queries, which Cho dismissed with a shake of her head.

"Nah. My book would be too heavy if I did that!" she joked as she nudged Furostomi, who smiled and nodded too. She seemed far more open than usual. Jinsei smiled again. It was amazing how much more open everyone was. Near to the cake he saw Taro talking with Yakusha, who was holding a small blue bag to his head. Jinsei decided to investigate as he approached.

"You ok Yakusha?" he asked, pointing to the bag.

"Yes yes, no worry! Just banged my head a bit, using this ice pack to dull it!" he assured with a smile.

"Good job, old boy! Once that lump is gone, we can practice our lines!" Taro compliment with a pompous smile.

"Lines? What for?" Jinsei questioned.

"Ah! Well while doing this act for you, myself and Taro decided to write a musical to perform together! We're going to base it on the events in the school." Yakusha explained.

"It's true!" exclaimed Yorick, who Jinsei noticed was out of Yakusha's hand for a change and now able to talk on his own. Apparently.

"We will call it 'The great high school murder debacle!' A most fitting title wouldn't you say?" Taro continued, grinning even wider. Jinsei just nodded dumbly.

"It's so nice to see everyone getting along." Said Kiyonari oddly cheerfully as she joined their group.

"Kiyonari? You ok there?" Jinsei was shocked by this extremely. The fact of Daisuke acting nice, he could understand, but Kiyonari being completely sociable?!

"Mhm fine. I've just learned to enjoy my job thanks to you guys." She chirped with a smile, hugging onto Yakusha.

"It's worth it for you, love." The two kissed and Jinsei once again felt his mind coming apart at how much had changed in just a few hours, once again running off to go join Shou and Hanako. They, thankfully, were not kissing.

"So… it was just special effects?" he questioned.

"Yup sure was! Had you fooled, huh?" Shou teased with a toothy grin.

"Yeah… but where did you go these past few days?" Jinsei questioned. They'd been gone at least three days at least.

"Well the principal gave us a room hidden by the courtroom. It's over there." Hanako said, pointing over to the wall where Jinsei spotted a slight outline while chewing on some more cake.

"Wow… so you've been down here?" Jinsei continued.

"Mhm. It was kinda lonely, but I had Shou for company!" she said happily and Jinsei quickly backed off before they started kissing too.

Jinsei collected himself in the middle of the room and looked around. Everyone seemed genuinely happy, as if their high school life of mutual killing truly hadn't been real. There was laughter, cake, music… why did he still feel on edge?

"Master Jinsei?" The sweet voice of the maid drew him as he turned around and saw Yayoi standing behind him, in her usual attire, a smile on his face. "Are you enjoying the party?" Jinsei nodded in response, but Yayoi tilted her head. "Are you sure? You seem on edge."

"Well I am, kind of… this is all just such a massive change. It's startling…" Yayoi nodded.

"I thought it might be… so, I prepared something special for you sir." Yayoi smiled slightly slyly. Suddenly, she drew a hand behind her back and unzipped something and suddenly slipped her entire maid costume off, leaving her in just some black and white lacy underwear. Jinsei felt the blood rush to his cheeks as she smiled and approached him, trying to keep his eyes off of her bouncing chest and swaying hips. She drew close to him and pressed her body onto him, wrapping her arms around his back as her face was only inches away from his own, her eyes lustfully staring into his.

"Y-yayoi…" he managed, feeling his heart rate drastically increase with each move she made.

"It's alright Jinsei. Just leave everything to me." She whispered as her lips drew closer to his. Jinsei knew what was coming. His chest felt tight, his breath was short, his blood was pumping… a pain was throbbing in his chest… he felt weak and wrong in the head… this couldn't be simple love… this had to…

Jinsei never finished his thought. The poison laced in the birthday cake had finally take effect. One by one, the students toppled to the ground, falling on top of one another in dead slumps, their breath stopping and their hearts failing. The birthday room had become a morgue.

The principal stood shocked as he looked down at his now dead students. His brain throbbed as he tried to think of how they could all be dead. Then something hit him…

"ARKUS!" he shouted toward the doorway. The cyborg giant lumbered forward, dragging his knuckles slightly.

"Yes boss?" He said simply.

"Did you put poison in the cake?" the principal demanded. Arkus rubbed his chin as he thought.

"Duuuuhhh… yes boss." He said again.

"You idiot! Why would you poison our students?!" The midget shouted, hopping up and down.

"But I thought we were evil boss…" he said humbly, twiddling his thumbs.

"Not actually evil, it was an act!" the principal screeched.

"Ooohhhhh… so I shouldn't have-"

"No, not at all." The principal sighed and shook his head. "Go get that chainsaw from the shed, and fill the swimming pool with acid. We've at least got to cover this up."

"Yes boss." Arkus said and lumbered away. The principal sighed and turned to look at the wall. If only things could've worked out this way after all.

If only…


	11. What does courage mean - Class trial

Danganronpa: Despair unbound

Chapter 2: What does courage mean

Class trial

(Faithwood Academy – Underground courtroom – Day 06 –12:45)

Jinsei's upper lip curled in disgust. The courtroom had undergone a redesign since their last visit. The walls were now a shining emerald color with a diamond pattern running up and down it. The columns between the walls were silver and lined with straight patterns of circular wavy motions. A rich fanatic's paradise, Jinsei thought. He and the other students took their places at the seats, as Jinsei noticed a new stand had appeared in a seat, that of Cosmic man, a red X marking his face.

(CLASS TRIAL – COURT IS NOW IN SESSION)

The room seemed to spin from the tension as Jinsei readied himself mentally. He didn't have all the answers, but he had to steer this trial In the right direction.

"Alright… how do we start this one?" Asked Taro, oddly a bit quieter than usual.

"I'll get us going." Decided Akari. "Cosmic Man was murdered in the therapy room. Stabbed to death by a knife." Jinsei was about to correct her, but Yakusha beat him to the punch.

"Not so, ma'am!" he said with a flourish, producing Yorick and holding him outward. "The knife in the hero's back was a fake! It's a prop, I've seen it before in the studio." Akari's jaw hung open.

"How didn't you notice that?" mocked Kasper with a tip of his hat.

"Regardless, the prop knife can't be the weapon." Agreed Taro with a stroke of his chin.

"So then what is the weapon?" questioned Cho, sketching down their conversations at lightning speed in her book.

"I'm not sure… perhaps the killer took it with them?" suggested Gina. "There were no other weapons at the crime scene." Jinsei decided it was time to start steering this trial in the right direction. If his suspicions were right, he might be able to get them thinking and uncover something.

"Guys, I have a theory about this." Jinsei began.

"Oh here we go." Groaned Daisuke.

"I don't think the therapy room is actually the crime scene at all." He posed the question to the group.

"Why not?" Asked Cho, checking her book for a few notes.

"Well, there's a heavy lack of evidence. First, the wound." Jinsei began. "The wound was pretty deep and there's evidence of bleeding on the victim's back. But the crime scene is bone dry without a single spot of blood. Add onto that a fake murder weapon, it's simply not possible." The students exchanged glances.

"But that means we have no murder scene and no weapon… so how are we supposed to work out who killed Cosmic Man?!" Blustered Taro, getting extremely flustered and cross.

"Well, I have reason to believe the actual crime scene was somewhere else." Jinsei continued.

"Oh really? Then do tell, psychiatrist." Said Kasper, tipping his hat slightly. As he caught their attention, Jinsei took a breath. He was doing well keeping the trial on topic, now he just had to make his point so they could start making some progress.

"I believe, the actual crime scene was the studio just down the hall from the therapy room." Some of the student seemed surprised by this.

"Why's that?" Haruo asked.

"Well, three specific reasons. First, I checked in there earlier. One of the mirror's was broken." He began, referring to his notes. "Secondly, the area beneath the mirror had been cleaned recently. Furthermore, I found Kiyonari's mop in the prop room, which was stolen earlier today. Finally, the prop knife in the wound. If the killer put it in there to confuse us, it was probably a prop from the store room." He finished with a slight tone of confidence. He was certain he had this worked out now.

"I can confirm that knife is from the prop room." Yakusha agreed. "I remember seeing it in the box a few times."

"So that's where my mop went,…" mumbled Kiyonari.

"Still, was there any blood or something?" Daisuke queried further.

"Well, no." Jinsei admitted.

"Then you've got little actual evidence the murder occurred in there. Maybe Taro broke the mirror with his singing." Daisuke added sarcastically. Taro seemed to double over backwards at the nerve.

"A-a-actually…" peeped Furostomi, having been quiet until now. "I… I think J-j-jinsei's right…" she claimed. The students turned on her.

"How do you know?" Asked Kiyonari, almost spitting the question like a sunflower seed. Furostomi fumbled with her gloved hands.

"W-w-well… I p-p-passed by the st-t-tudio earlier today… and I saw… I…I saw…" she was having trouble actually saying it, she seemed scared out of her wits.

"It's ok Furostomi." Assured Gina. "You can tell us." Furostomi nodded shakily.

"When I p-p-passed by the st-t-tudio… I s-saw… C-c-cosmic Man…a-and he was st-st-stabbing someone!" the group was silent as the bombshell hit them. A testimony definitely confirmed that the true crime scene was the studio, but now this…

"A…are you sure it was him?" Asked Gina, fazed incredibly by this shocking news.

"Y-yes… t-t-there was something flashing in his hand-d-d…" she continued shivering.

"Could you see whom he attacked?" asked Akari, peering over at her.

"N-no… I'm sorry…" she looked on the verge of tears.

"Well, at least we know now… the flashing must've been a knife, right?" Taro suggested, adjusting his cravat. Jinsei wondered about that when Kasper piped up.

"Actually… considering there were some pretty large shards under the mirror." He began with a sly smile. "I'd bet one of those shards was the weapon."

"That's just speculation." Kiyonari pointed out. "Unless you've got evidence-"

"I do, darling." Kasper said slyly. The janitor frowned slightly. "One of the shards had a smudged surface, indicating someone held it." Jinsei gasped. Why hadn't he thought to do that?

"So, we can confirm the murder happened in the studio and that the weapon was a mirror shard." Confirmed Akari, bringing everyone up to speed. "But. Cosmic Man did the attacking?"

"That's not the biggest issue here." Gina pointed out. "That mirror was broken during a fight, yes?" Everyone seemed to agree on that. "Then how did someone beat Cosmic Man in a fight? I've fought the man to a standstill and I couldn't beat him. So who could?" The group was silent as they thought on what it could mean.

Jinsei set himself back as he continued to think on the case. Too much about this didn't make sense. A false weapon, a wrong murder scene, the victim attacking someone and the victim being beaten in a fight. All these elements mixed together made for a case that was impossible to puzzle out. Elements were contradicting themselves or other elements. What could the answer be?

"Well, why not just look at the facts?" Kiyonari stated flatly. "Furostomi was upstairs at the time of the murder. I think it's her and that account is just a pack of lies." The shivering skier flinched as she looked up to the unflinching glare of the janitor.

"N-n-no! I hid in the g-g-gym locker room afterwards! I s-swear!" she claimed, shaking all the while.

"It makes sense though… seeing Cosmic Man attack someone yet he turns up dead. And no-one else was upstairs." Akari continued.

"Well… Jinsei was upstairs for a long time." Cho pointed out. Jinsei gritted his teeth, fearing this might happen. Now the trial was quickly turning against him and Furostomi. But he couldn't think of any other way to explain the strange nature of this case yet. The accusations flew back and forth as he just tried to fit the pieces together in his head.

A fight between victim and killer… a mirror shard as the weapon… the prop knife… Kiyonari's mop… the studio… the padded suit… the suit… something seemed to click in Jinsei's mind. It seemed outlandish just in his head but… it was a possibility. He had to try it. To find the real killer and save their lives.

"I think I've got it!" he announced to quiet down the students. They turned their attention on him at his sudden outburst. "I think we might've had this case wrong from the very start…"

"What do you mean?" Haruo asked, scratching his head as always.

"I mean… I don't even think the victim is Cosmic Man. In fact, I think Cosmic Man is the killer." The room was silent for the longest time as everyone gave Jinsei the oddest looks. Eventually it was Daisuke who broke the silence.

"Jinsei… make like an imaginary number and GET REAL!" he shouted, slamming the banister. "You're saying the victim is the killer?! You're fucking mental!" Everyone else seemed to share his feelings as they looked at Jinsei.

"I realize it's hard to accept but… this whole case just makes no sense. This is the only way it makes any sense." The psychiatrist continued to explain. "It explains why Cosmic Man was seen attacking someone."

"But it doesn't explain the fact that it's Cosmic Man who died." Said Akari, as dubious as everyone else on Jinsei's theory.

"But is it?" Jinsei asked innocently enough. "Remember something. Cosmic Man was always in costume with a helmet on. We didn't remove it during the investigation. So how can we be sure it's the same person inside the suit?" The students stared at Jinsei as his words resounded in his head. Something did seem to make sense in what he said.

"But how can you be sure it's not him? You didn't look either." Kasper asked, pointing a finger.

"Well, two things." Jinsei began, checking his notes. "First, the suit. There wasn't a single drop of blood on the suit. Second, the wound was fairly deep and there was blood on the victim's back. Joining these two facts, I think that the victim was put in the suit after already being killed."

"But then… what does that mean?" Queried Cho, confused as she attempted to make sense of his sentences in her book.

"It means… Cosmic Man is the killer… and he took the victim's place. He could've stolen a wig from the studio storage room and taken their clothes too… he could be among us right now."

The words landed like a hefty anvil in the middle of the courtroom as the words sunk in deep. They knew the true murderer was amongst them, but the murderer was also disguised as someone else? Now things were only more complicated.

"So… how do we find the faker?" Kiyonari wondered aloud, looking between the students along with her fellows. Yakusha had the answer as he grinned and produced Yorick, clacking his jaws to make him speak.

"I know! An actor is only as good as his ability to stay in character! The cracks will appear to anyone with any idea of who they are!" He explained. "Or to put it simply… the perpetrator is bound to be acting differently to normal!"

"So we just look for differences?" Asked Taro, leaning forward slightly.

"Exactly! And we do have one other leading guideline!" the actor continued. "Cosmic Man was male… therefore, he is impersonating someone male in this room!" Jinsei nodded in agreement, that did seem to make sense… but at the same time, something was nagging in the back of his head, as if something was amiss.

"Actually, sirs." Began Yayoi, having been quiet most of the trial thus far. "You're off the mark. Cosmic Man can't be impersonating a male."

"And why is that?" Cho asked inquisitively, pen writing everything down in her book.

"Because… I investigated the corpse a little more closely. " The maid explained. "And something I learned is… Cosmic Man's suit is particularly padded in certain areas, like the stomach, chest, arms, legs and groin." Jinsei nodded, he remembered finding that too.

"And? Isn't that simply to protect him during battle?" Gina suggested. "Now that I think about it, my strikes never did seem to land much impact…"

"No, I'm afraid not." Yayoi shook her head as her ribbon bounced. "The padding was actually used to disguise the wearer's gender. I'm sorry to break it during such a sensitive time but… Cosmic man was, in fact, a woman."

The ball dropped once again. The information struck hard in the room as preconceptions were smashed and a particular samurai realized her greatest opponent was on equal ground to her in every way.

"B-but… Cosmic Man had a male room…" Taro stated dryly, trying to adjust himself. It was now that Monokuma started laughing and bounced onto his feet.

"I can confirm this one folks! Cosmic Man was a reverse trap! Female to the bone!" he announced with a hearty laugh.

"But if she was female, why'd you say she was male?!" Haruo shouted in shock. The bear simply shook his head.

"She chose to appear male, so I went with it! Besides, it sure made this trial more dramatic, didn't it?!" The group was quiet once more as they now turned to look at their female line up. Amongst them hid their illusive hero...

"…but." Continued Kasper. "That still doesn't clue us in onto which of our girls is in fact the faker." The point was direct as everyone was still reeling from the shock of Cosmic Man being female. Jinsei looked over each of them in turn. He thought back to what Yakusha said. Cracks in the usual behavior would reveal who was the faker. He cast his mind back to the day before. Theoretically, the moment after Cosmic Man was dead, the killer was already pretending to be someone else. So far as he knew, no-one was missing during the investigation except for Furostomi…

He turned the events of the day before over and over in his head. There had to be something. Was anyone acting different to before? Could he have missed someone acting suspiciously? There had to be something… there had to be…

That's when something clicked in Jinsei's head. There was an incident today that had made him wonder about someone… it was a little loose, but at this point, anything to go on would be good enough. Then it was just a case of linking it with the evidence.

"Akari?" Jinsei began, looking to the firefighter. She raised an eyebrow and looked back at him.

"Yeah, what?" She asked nonchalantly.

"Remember earlier? That appointment we had?" Jinsei continued. Akari shook her head.

"No, I told you, I don't remember making any appointment." Jinsei nodded.

"Yeah, I thought so. I remember you asking me about it specifically yesterday. And since you didn't show up… it's making me wonder if you didn't just forget. Maybe you didn't know in the first place." Akari tilted her head slightly.

"Really? That's pretty sketchy Jinsei." She said nonchalantly. "Besides, you could just be making that up." Jinsei flinched slightly. He had to keep this lead if he wanted any chance of making this work.

"Actually…" Cho piped up, flicking back through her book. "I remember that too. You asked Jinsei specifically to meet in the therapy room at 10. It's written down right here." Akari twitched slightly as she looked over at Cho.

"So that's two accounts… you can't go denying that, Akari." Jinsei stated as attention started to shift toward the firefighter as her teeth gritted and beads of sweat formed on her head.

"W-well, I guess I did just forget then… I can do that sometimes. Hell, Cho does it all the time!" she argued.

"Actually… you have been acting different today." Cho continued, flicking back through her book. "Earlier when we found the body, Daisuke acted rude and you didn't smack him. You usually do that all the time." Akari flinched again.

"Yeah… in fact…" Daisuke started to pick up on what was going on as he looked over to Akari. "Do you remember what you told me about last night?" Akari looked over as she started to mumble and think on the spot.

"I uh… how um… how bad you are?" she guessed as Daisuke gritted his teeth.

"Not at all." He growled, as more accusatory glances turned to her.

"L-look, this just isn't making sense…" Akari claimed. "It's all confused from the get go." Jinsei flicked up his sketchbook.

"It makes perfect sense. Let's take this from the top." He decided a case summary would work right about now. "You, Cosmic Man, first stole Kiyonari's mop and took it to the studio. Then, you met with Akari. The two of you fought and you got knocked into the mirror. Thinking on the spot, you snatched up a shard and stabbed her in the back, that's when Furostomi saw you. Then you used the mop to clean up the mess and switched outfits with her, putting on a wig too. Then you added the prop knife to her wound and moved her body to the therapy room. And as Akari, you didn't know secrets about her and missed acting like her…" He brought his finger up and pointed it straight at her. "Isn't that right, Cosmic Man?!" He finished with a strong sense of gusto. Everything had fallen into place.

The possibly fake Akari was now extremely anxious, hands gripping the banister and sweat rolling down her face as she shuddered.

"So… are you ready to admit it?" Jinsei asked, peering closer at her.

"Admit… what?" Akari said slowly as she raised her head up. "I've done nothing you mad son of a bitch!" she declared loudly, slamming her fists on the banister. "You're trying to pin me with small personality changes? What kind of second rate bullshit is that?!"

"But the connection makes sense! And you've been acting differently!" Jinsei tried to argue but the possibly fake Akari was having none of it.

"What bullshit! People have off days! I mean hell, I'm being accused of murder in a school of murder! Of course I'm acting different!" she screeched, teeth grinding like drills into rock. "You need concrete proof! If you have no actual evidence, then fuck you and your second rate, lame claims you corrupted mind magician!" her ranting became increasingly deranged, but a legitimate point was sitting in its midst. Jinsei had no real evidence to pin Akari to the crime. If he didn't have that, there was still a chance it couldn't be her. He had one chance to end this trial now and prove that this faker was the killer. But what… what could there be? What could he use to pin her to this crime… he went back over the crime scene… the mop… the fight… the switch.. the fake knife… was there anything he could use?

"Akari." Jinsei cut off her ramblings quickly and sharply, like a knife. "I can prove you're Cosmic Man. I have evidence."

"Bull fucking shit!" she shouted louder.

"I can! If my theory is correct and Cosmic Man did switch outfits, that means his outfit wasn't damaged at the time of the crime!" Jinsei started.

"So what?!" Akari continued to oppose him.

"That means that the victim's clothes were torn in the kill and he ripped the costume to cover it up! Which means the clothes you're wearing should be ripped!"

Akari's ranting stopped as the point sliced her arguing to pieces. With a forlorn sigh, she lowered her head and turned around, showing her back. Sure enough, the back of her shirt was torn vertically. A clear evidential point that linked her to the crime.

"Akari… no…" Daisuke muttered unbelievably, staring at the red headed faker.

"Well well well!" Cackled Monokuma, popping up onto his stubby feet. "I think it's time to make a decision! Press the button to vote for who you think the killer is!" The class voted in silence and pressed their buttons. The slot machine appeared on it's pillar in the middle of the room, reels ablaze with neon fire. The reels stuttered to a halt, landing on the helmeted image of Cosmic Man. The lights flashed, the fake crowd cheered and the case was decided.

"Well done indeed! The one who killed Akari Himura and now impersonates her, was Cosmic Man! Now to be known by her real name, Noriko Watanabe!" The false Akari, now known as Norkio, hung her head and clenched her fists up. The class turned on her.

"Cosmic Man… Noriko…" Gina managed, seeming the most crushed about all this. "Why… why would you do this?!" She demanded, tears in her eyes. Noriko flinched as she couldn't look Gina in the eye.

"Please… I can explain,…" she managed slightly, seeming to bite her tongue.

"We're all ears." Sneered Daisuke, frowning immensely.

"Well… this!" Noriko shouted, reaching into her pockets and producing a piece of notepaper. On it was a note written out along with a few small diagrams of the second floor along with a few arrows.

"What's that?" Asked Haruo, tilting his head a bit.

"These are murder plans!" Noriko claimed. "I found them outside her room… I wanted to confront her and ask her about it! The kill was spur of the moment during the fight!" She claimed. "I didn't want to kill her… but she was ready to kill too!" The students rested uneasily on this.

"That's bullshit." Kasper quickly pointed out. "You stole Kiyonari's mop in advance. You knew you'd wind up killing her." Noriko flinched.

"N-no! That was simple precaution! I didn't truly intend to kill!" Noriko cried out, quaking in her boots.

"Dis…honorable…" Gina managed through gritted teeth.

"Cosmic Man… how could you…" Cho hung her head and sighed greatly.

"A shame to us all…" Agreed Yakusha. The whole room stank of gloom and shame, staring at their fallen hero. Dispair's horrible mist was settling upon them once again.

"Well, enough with the drama!" Cried out Monokuma with a cackle. "It's punishment time! And I have a very special punishment in mi-" he began, when suddenly Noriko cut her off, leaping in front of Monokuma and crying out loudly.

"No!" In a sudden flashy transformation sequence, Akari's clothes went flying off of Noriko's form as she was suddenly once again wrapped up in her Cosmic Man suit, helmet and all. "Students of Faithwood academy! The oppression ends now! I swear, for the sin I have committed, I will seek redemption via the destruction of this bear and all his twisted schemes!" The rant wasn't enough to inspire confidence in any of them though Cosmic Man was unfazed.

"Arkus." Said Monokuma as the large cyborg guard stepped into the path of the suited hero.

"Come forth! I will slay you both!" Shouted Cosmic Man, running at him with his fist outstretched. The two collided and began to do battle, exchanging blow for blow in front of the bear. It was a clear clash of titans.

But it was finished in one swift move. Arkus moved his mechanical claw to grab Noriko's helmet and yank it off of her in seconds, finally revealing her to the students. Her shallow green eyes were revealed, her short brown hair bunched up behind her head, her scared face. She stopped fighting as her helmet fell to the floor. Her identity revealed she had been disgraced. She covered her face with her hands and made a slight sobbing noise.

"…anyway!" continued Monokuma, not skipping a beat. "It's punishment time! And I have a very special punishment in mind for our super duper high school hero!" Noriko made no move to stop him. She was done. "Let's get this ball rolling!" Producing the small mallet from his back, he smacked it onto the button on the podium that rose before him.

(GAME OVER – NORIKO WATANABE HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY – COMMENCING EXECUTION)

When Noriko looked up again, she was in an unfamiliar place. She appeared to be in the middle of a metropolitan city, atop a tall building. Standing across from her, she saw a man in a suit similar to her own, except it's color scheme was black and white and its helmet was a different shape. The figure turned to look at her and Noriko recoiled in horror. The helmet this figure wore looked exactly like the face of Monokuma.

HEROIC JUSTICE COMBAT: HAJIME!

Without even thinking, Noriko charged at the suspicious Monokuma hero. The two began to battle atop the rooftop, trading blows and fighting with their all. Noriko was quickly gaining the upper hand, landing strong punches and kicks on the enemy. But as she was doing so well, the hero suddenly leapt backward and struck a strange pose. In an instant, he was joined by four other heroes that looked just like him!

Noriko flinched, now the odds were against her. But nevertheless, she charged and continued to fight the five individuals. This time it was no contest. The increase in numbers made the match almost too easy for her opponents as they attacked her from all angles, beating her to the point of senselessness. Eventually they had her down as she crouched on one knee and tried to regain her strength. Her three opponents leapt backward and struck a pose, putting their hands together as an energy ball began to form in between them.

"Super cosmic despair cannon!" shouted the five heroes as they charged their shot up. Noriko's eyes widened in horror as the energy ball grew in size and sparked with destructive force. She tried to stand, legs wobbling, as she tried to inch her way out of the blast. But it was too late. The ball grew to its maximum size and burst like a bubble, shooting a long blast of black and white energy towards Noriko in the form of a laser beam. The beam struck her clear in the chest and covered most of her body.

For the briefest of moments, she was flying backward on the energy, screaming in pain. And then it was silenced, as her body broke apart under the extreme power behind the laser. She was vaporized in an instant, blown into a million pieces with no visible remains left. The five Monokuma heroes struck a pose of victory and cried out happily for their defeat of Cosmic Man, before they disappeared from the rooftop entirely.

The students were quiet as they watched it all from the TV screens in the courtroom. Another murder solved, another student destroyed and another day reduced to despair. Gina knelt to the ground and picked up the only remnant of their fallen comrade, her helmet and held it close to herself.

"…you will remain honorable… to me…" she managed as tears sprung to her eyes. Everyone else tried not to look at her, for fear of recalling what had just happened.

"Woo hoo!" Cried Monokuma. "That was fun! Like the end of a super hero show or something! Aaahhh I gotta see the recording for that one! Arkus, were the cameras rolling?" he turned to his cyborg henchman, who simply nodded. "Awesome! I'm gonna go watch that again! Bye!" And with that, Monokuma was gone, his cyborg guard trudging out of the room behind him.

(Faithwood Academy – Jinsei's room – Day 06 – 23:00)

"Dear Juchika

What does heroism mean? What does it mean for someone to be a hero? After today I… really don't know how to answer that question. My perspective has become skewed.

Was Cosmic Man a hero? For how he may have saved someone else by killing Akari? But was she even going to kill someone to begin with… that murder plan. I still can't believe it. I trusted her and she had something like that hidden? It's just… it seems unreal.

I can smell it again… Despair hangs in the air like a raincloud. I must admit, I add to this cloud extensively… I thought I might get used to after Hanako's execution but… the feeling is just as stomach wrenchingly rancid as ever.

I wish I could have you here for support… you'd know what to do in these dark times… then again, I'm glad you're not here, lest you become part of this twisted game…

Yours truly, Jinsei."

He slipped the note into the desk drawer and slid into bed. He was done with this day. And he was prepared for the nightmares that were destined to come.

Little did he know, his nightmares would become far more physical this night than he could ever have imagined.


	12. Et tu Monokuma? - Day 7

Danganronpa: Despair unbound

Chapter 3: Et tu, Monokuma?

Day 07

(Faithwood Academy – Jinsei's room – Day 07 –3:00)

Jinsei's dreams were once again riddled with nightmares. An image of Akari strewn out over the bed with the mirror shard plunged into her back. The face of Noriko as she was struck dead by the laser, vaporized in mid air right before his eyes. Not to mention the return of Shou's corpse and Hanako becoming plant food. All these images swirled in his head to the noxious sound of the bear's laugh in a spiraling cacophony of murder and blood.

The dreams shattered like a mirror when a loud sound awoke Jinsei. It was someone knocking on his door. Drowsily, he rose from his bed and checked his clock. It was 3AM. Jinsei groaned and went over to the door, sleepily opening it and looking at the figure that stood before him.

His eyes snapped wide open when he recognized the shape of the man standing before him. How could he not? The shape was unmistakable, it's giant size, and it's metal appendages and that terrifying claw. He backed away from the door quickly.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Jinsei cried out at Arkus as he entered the room. The giant raised a human finger to his mask in a sign of shushing, indicating quiet. Jinsei nodded dumbly, knowing best not to get on this giant's bad side. Arkus closed the door behind him. He took a seat across the room from Jinsei.

"Finally… we can talk freely." The giant began, speaking for the first time. His voice was fairly gruff and strong, no surprises there.

"What do you mean?" Jinsei inquired, relaxing a bit as the giant didn't seem to have hostile intent.

"It's late. Monokuma is asleep and not monitoring me. So, I can talk freely." Arkus explained. Jinsei rubbed his chin.

"But what about the cameras? Won't he see you've come here and know what happened?" He pressed the matter, as the giant reached into his pocket and pulled out a small remote.

"Not with this. It freezes the camera for roughly 10 seconds. Therefore, he'll never know." Jinsei nodded, wondering why Monokuma's most trusted servant would want to be undetected by him.

"So… why are you here?" Jinsei questioned as Arkus tilted his head.

"I came to speak with you. About this school." The cyborg explained.

"What about it exactly?" Jinsei didn't trust Arkus. He still worked for Monkuma. He could easily be setting a trap.

"What happened to it." Arkus continued. "Faithwood Academy was built to be one of the strongest schools in the world. Capable of withstanding anything, bombs, natural disasters, you name it. It's a complete fortress." He continued. Jinsei cocked an eyebrow.

"Why does a school like this need to be a fortress? Was the administration planning for something?" Arkus shook his head.

"They wanted it to be a safe haven for its students should the unthinkable happen. But during its term time, someone hijacked it's system and used it to trap all of you here." Jinsei found this most intriguing. That concluded that someone was controlling Monokuma. Someone watching from the shadows…

"So you're saying we need to find this mastermind in order to escape this school?" Jinsei asked Arkus, who nodded in response.

"Indeed. I do not know specifically who he is, but I do know one thing. There is a security station on the top floor of this school. It's your best bet he's there." He continued to explain. Jinsei wondered to himself. He thought back to before he arrived at this school and the brochure… didn't it mention this school had 5 floors in total?

"This is all very interesting… but what makes you think I trust you?" Jinsei questioned the giant. "You work for Monokuma. You could be leading me with false information." What troubled him further was Arkus' mask. If he could see his face, he might be able to read his emotions and tell if he was being truthful. Arkus tilted his head down as if he were thinking before looking back up at Jinsei.

"I was not made his guard by choice. Even now, I would prefer not to be his servant." Arkus explained. He pointed to his shoulder plates, which had two small devices, were attached. "These are small voltage generators. If I don't do as Monokuma says, he turns on the voltage." Jinsei looked shocked, pardoning the pun.

"So you're more his slave that his servant… can't you simply take off the armour?" Arkus shook his head again.

"No. It's been locked on automatically. Only Monokuma has the remote to unlock it… it's quite uncomfortable." He remarked, scratching his side with his human hand.

"I see…" Jinsei rubbed his chin as he digested this information. Arkus rose from his seat.

"Believe me or not, Jinsei. You've proven yourself capable of saving all these students… I only want to help where I can." He moved to the door. "The forces of hope and despair move even as we speak…" and on that note, he left the room, making loud trudging down the hall. Jinsei just sat on his bed and thought on this information. The guard on their side… it didn't seem real.

(Faithwood Academy – Dining room – Day 07 – 9:00)

The students once again gathered on time to eat another breakfast prepared by faithful Yayoi. No one wanted to mention the two new empty seats they had today. The air was tense, but Jinsei could at least see a few students attempting conversation. All of a sudden the world's worst comedian arrived.

"Good morning everyone!" Announced Monokuma, bouncing on the table. "I hope you're all feeling super duper awesome today, because I sure am!" when no one responded, he cast his eyes around the table. "What's wrong? Did someone die or something?" he cackled as the students tried to ignore him. Monokuma bounced harder. "Hey! It's not nice to ignore your principal! Especially not when I opened up the 3rd floor for you guys!" No-one responded as the bear was now fuming. "Fine! That's the way you wanna play huh?! Well I'll just leave then, I know where I'm not wanted!" the bear bounced off the table and was gone in an instant.

"I hate that bear…" Yakusha muttered.

"We all do." Agreed Kasper. "But he has a point. That prisoner could be on the next floor. It'd be worth looking around later." Most of the students nodded, the only ones unresponsive were Daisuke and Jinsei. The former was just staring miserably into his food while the latter was still turning over the information from last night.

"We need to stop thinking about what happened and just hope it doesn't happen again." Added Gina, seeming especially strong today.

"Of course it'll happen again." Noted Kiyonari spitefully. "You guys just can't accept our lives here so you keep killing. It's inevitable if you ask me."

"No-one asked you." Spat Daisuke, glaring over to her. Kiyonari frowned.

"Of course not. But I'm a cleaner, when else is anyone going to listen to me?" She complained.

"Maybe have something worth talking about." Daisuke continued to growl.

"Calm it down you two." Kasper stopped them before punches started flying.

"Y-yeah… we g-g-gotta stick t-t-together…" said Furostomi, as chilly as ever.

"…sorry, what?" Cho asked as she seemed to have forgotten the conversation while writing it.

"Sirs, if you're all finished eating, might I suggest we search the 3rd floor?" Asked Yayoi, emerging from the kitchen. Most of the plates were empty at this point, so the students agreed and set off for the stairwell.

(Faithwood academy – 3F corridor – Day 07 – 9:45)

The students followed one another up the stairs, Taro leading them upwards, Cho bringing up the rear with Jinsei sandwiched between Furostomi and Gina. At the top of the stairs they emerged into a corridor stretching off to the right, with a single door on their left. There was a cold feeling coming from the door, Jinsei noted. Down the corridor, there were two doors on the left side and one on the right, the rest of the corridor turning to the left up ahead. Jinsei decided to stop off with Furostomi to check out the door on their right whilst the others continued up the hall. Looking closer, the door had a picture of ice skates emblazoned on it. Upon opening the door, Furostomi seemed to gasp.

"Oh my god! Wow!" she cried out in genuine excitement, practically bouncing on her feet at the sight. The room they had entered was freezing cold and the floor was mostly wooden. In the middle of the room was a large rounded rectangular fence, blocking in what looked like an ice rink. Looking around, Jinsei noticed a couple of hooks on the wall with various ice skates attached of different sizes and colors. In fact, each peg had one of their names under it.

"Wow… efficient…" Jinsei noted as he approached them. He jumped suddenly as Furostomi quick snatched up a pair and slipped them on before making her way over to the ice. She began skating near professionally, happy as can be, arms stretched out almost like a bird as she twirled and slid over the ice. Jinsei smiled slightly. It made sense a top-notch skier would be good at skating too.

"I'm so glad I can finally have some fun!" Furostomi giggled as she didn't even shiver once out on the rink. Jinsei decided to just leave her to it and was about to leave the room when he spotted something over by the rightmost wall. It looked like a painting of some sort. As Jinsei drew closer to inspect it, his lip curled in disgust. The painting was a large repainting of the Mona Lisa, attached to the wall via a large golden frame, a few icicles hanging off of the wall beside it. The repainting was near identical to the original down to the exact brushstroke. Only one thing ruined it. Where the woman's famous smile once was, a rather crude sticker of Monokuma had been slapped on top, grinning at him. Jinsei sighed slightly. He couldn't even appreciate a masterpiece in a place like this thanks to Monokuma's ego.

"Do you like it?" cackled a voice behind him as Jinsei turned to see a familiar face. "I was really impressed with it when I saw it! I liked it so much I had to add myself to it! Made it 200% better, right?" he asked, leaning forward as if asking for approval. Jinsei decided not to dignify him with a response. The bear seemed extremely miffed. "Oh come on, I just wanted to talk with you! That's bearly a reason to hate me, is it?!" the bear hopped up and down as Jinsei continued to ignore him. Looking dejected, Monokuma hobbled off out of the door, sniffling slightly. "I'll remember this!" He shouted as he left. Jinsei turned back to Furostomi.

"I'm going to go check the rest of the floor, will you be fine on your own?" He asked her. The skier just gave him a short nod with a beaming smile and went back to skating. Jinsei sighed slightly and left the room, heading back into the corridor.

Monokuma had already pulled another Houdini when he got there. Jinsei continued down the corridor, checking a few of the doors. One of the doors on his right he found a classroom, Taro was inside. Another of those Monakuma paintings was hanging on the back wall. Jinsei just sighed and continued. Another classroom on his left had Kasper inside it. No painting this time. He continued to the corner, passing the iron bars blocking access to the fourth floor stairs. Around the corner, there was a pair of toilets on his left. He also happened to spot Cho hanging around.

"Cho? You ok there?" Jinsei asked, approaching her.

"Uh yeah… just…" she flipped through her book. "Just… forgot where I was…" Jinsei laughed a bit. Cho just smiled embarrassedly and accompanied him around the corner. Two doors stood on either side of him. On the left, the door showed another box symbol, and on the right the symbol of a video game controller stood, a lot of noise coming from that door. Jinsei decided to check that out first.

(Faithwood Academy – 3F Arcade – Day 07 – 10:30)

Upon opening the door, Jinsei was greeted with an entourage of bright flashing lights, chip tune sound effects and the sound of simulated gunfire. Looking around, Jinsei could identify a number of the arcade machines that were on display in this room. There was a Ghostcatch machine right in front of him, along with a Tennis for 2 machine next to it. There was a pinball table with a space theme, a Super Dance Revoke machine and at the far end, Jinsei could spot a light gun game. He also spotted Daisuke, gun in hand, blasting away at the screen.

"Yeah! Take that you goddamn factors!" he cackled as he pulled the trigger. Jinsei approached, peering at the machine cabinet. It had a few Monokuma stickers on it.

"House of despair?" Jinsei asked, having never seen this one before.

"Yeah, I never heard of it too." Daisuke admitted. "But it's got zombies and I'm shooting em!" Jinsei took a moment to look at the screen. The setting was a high school as various zombies were approaching the screen, though each one seemed oddly unique in a few ways. A zombie in a white suit with red eyes and pointy hair loomed onto the screen as Daisuke was quick to gun him down.

"This seems oddly specific…" Jinsei muttered to himself.

"Yeah but who cares? I need to let some steam off!" he shouted as he gunned down a brown haired zombie in a bell skirt. Jinsei wondered as he watched him.

"You seem especially stressed since the trial yesterday…" he said, looking at Daisuke, the mad grin plastered on his face was worrying enough.

"Nah I'm just fine!" he shouted as he blasted the head off of some kind of biker punk zombie. "Terrific in fact! I used to play games like this all the fuckin' time!" he insisted. Jinsei decided it was best not to pry at a time like this and left him to it, exiting back into the hallway. Before he left, he caught another glimpse of a Monakuma painting on the furthest wall, standing beside a rack of token dispensers for playing the games.

Opening the door to the storeroom, Jinsei rolled his eyes again. Another Monakuma painting was on the wall, leering at him between two large shelves. Aside from that, most of the storeroom was empty with shelves lined with boxes full of school supplies and other useless junk. He left and continued up the corridor, leading to one final door at the very end, a beaker flask symbol emblazoned on it. Opening the door up, he found the rest of his fellow students. The inside of the room had a lot of white covered benches and cupboards, gas taps and a few sinks around the area. Jinsei guessed it was a chemistry lab. Another hideous Monakuma was hung on the wall beside a few test tube racks.

"Find anything, Jinsei?" Gina asked as she rooted through a cupboard.

"Just an ice rink. Furostomi's still there." He told them. Gina nodded and got back to rooting. "Anything in here?"

"Nothing interesting." Kiyonari muttered.

"There's a whole stockpile of chemicals here." Haruo announced as he checked a high up cupboard. "Methanol, Boric Acid… all sorts of neat stuff." The alchemist rooted through the cupboard some more. "With this and all those materials, I could do all sorts of experiments here!"

"Well at least some good has come out of all this." Yakusha agreed, staring at the painting. "How ghastly…" he commented.

"Don't suppose we've seen any signs of that prisoner…" Cho asked the group. No-one replied. If there was any prisoner in this school, they had yet to find him. Or her. Who was even to say there was one.

"Jinsei?" Haruo suddenly approached him.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"I uh…. If you're not too busy… I'd like a session with you." He continued, scratching the back of his head. Jinsei nodded. He remembered Haruo approached him a day or so ago with that request. It was still his duty to fulfill it.

"Sure, let's go talk." Jinsei agreed as they two left the others to their searches.

(Faithwood Academy – 2F Therapy room – Day 07 – 11:00)

Jinsei sat down in the comfy seat as Haruo lay down on the sofa in front of him. They took a few brief moments to get settled and have a think about what had happened today.

"Alright Haruo. Just tell me whatever's on your mind." Jinsei began, taking out his notebook. "Whatever is said in this room is confidential, that's a promise." Haruo sighed slightly.

"Well… Jinsei, you've been sure about things in your life, right?" Jinsei raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" He inquired further as the alchemist sighed.

"Well… I mean, you've been confident about decisions, right? You've done stuff decisively." He continued as Jinsei made a quick note.

"I'd say so, yes. Why?" The tag question lingered as Haruo seemed a touch uncomfortable.

"It's just… I've been uncertain about so much in my life."

"How so?" Jinsei continued jotting it down, starting to get an idea of what was going on here.

"Well… my parents, for one." The alchemist explained.

"Your parents?"

"Yes… my mom was a school teacher and my father was a businessman… my dad wanted me to do something useful, but my mom wanted me to do something more interesting… I was torn between them with what to do." Haruo began to relax a bit more as his history came out piece by piece.

"So what did you do?" Jinsei asked.

"I became an alchemist…" Haruo continued. "Science enough to please my father, but capable of doing these magic tricks for my mother… it was all I could do to keep up appearances." Jinsei hummed a few times.

"So this has led to further uncertainty in your life due to wanting to keep both parties happy?" Jinsei theorized as Haruo answered with a simple nod.

"Ever since then, I've had trouble making decisions… over what I like and don't like… what to think… even about… love…" Jinsei suddenly felt a sense of unease settle in the room.

"Specifically love?" Jinsei asked, thinking he had an idea of what was wrong with Haruo.

"Sort of… these past few days… I've been feeling something like it. But… it feels so wrong." Jinsei cringed slightly, trying to overcome the feeling of discomfort that was continuing to build on him.

"Is it… because of the gender?" Jinsei guessed, trying to make it casual.

"No, it's because of where we are." Haruo explained as a feeling of relief washed over Jinsei. "I mean… how am I supposed to fall in love here… when someone may kill me?" Jinsei's brow creased as he made some more notes.

"I see…. So you're worried about admitting it to them due to it being used against you?" Haruo nodded again.

"I mean… what am I supposed to do? How do I decide any of this?" Jinsei waited for a moment as he checked over his notes and thought about what to say.

"Haruo… I think I know what your issue stems from." Jinsei began. "Because of being stifled by your parents, you've developed a severe lack of confidence." The alchemist looked to him. "It's not just uncertainty, it's lacking the drive to make choices about yourself. It holds you back." Haruo nodded slowly, agreeing slowly.

"So… are you saying I should maybe… be more confident?" Haruo asked. Jinsei was hesitant to say so. Advice like that could be a perfect recipe for trouble. He thought for a moment before he decided on an answer.

"Yes… but choose where to be confident carefully. There are times that call for it." Jinsei advised him. Haruo nodded for a while before coming to a decision in his head.

"Thanks Jinsei… you've been a real help." The alchemist bore a small smile and went to scratch his head, but seemed to stop and exited the therapy room. Jinsei smiled, thinking he'd done some good as Haruo left the room. He'd done a little science of his own in that room.

(Faithwood Academy – Eastern grounds – Day 07 – 14:00)

After lunch, Jinsei decided to wander around the school some more. No one seemed to need him so he decided to clear his head. As he walked past one of the doors to the outside, he spotted Gina outside. She was crouched amongst the flowers, seemingly in meditation.

As Jinsei stepped outside, he took note of the skies above. Grey clouds had rolled in and were flooding the sky with their gloomy silhouette. The sun was blocked out and Jinsei could swear he heard thunder.

"You were watching me, weren't you?" Said Gina mysteriously as Jinsei approached.

"Yes… is something wrong?" he asked. The kendoka nodded.

"Yes… my opponent is dead." She said bluntly. Jinsei sucked in air through his teeth at the memory of Cosmic Man being blasted by that despair laser.

"It was a sad loss to us all Gina…" Jinsei agreed, approaching her. The samurai was stone faced, but Jinsei could see the despair behind her eyes. She sighed somewhat.

"This academy is like a curse…" she began, glaring up at the turret rooftops and the towering stonewalls. "It infects us… it turns us on our own laurels… it's disgusting…" she bared her teeth as she spoke, hands bunched up tightly into fists. "It turned a botanist into a poisoner and a hero into a killer… who's next?" Jinsei hung his head slightly. He remembered the notes that had been found too. Akari's murder plans and Shou's diary page, this academy's corruptive influence was contagious.

"It's the bear." A new voice came from behind as Kasper approached from behind. The two turned to face him. "Whoever is really running the show is hidden from our view. They pull the strings here." He continued, folding his arms as his Stetson brim covered his eyes.

"Who could do this? Who could even want to do it…" Gina wondered as she stared up at the top of the academy.

"Someone clever enough to hijack this school and play us against one another… either a maniac or a mastermind." Kasper seemed to grin at the idea.

"You're loving this, aren't you?" Gina growled at him.

"I am a hunter. I enjoy a challenge. And turning predator into prey." Kasper responded, his smile fading for the briefest of moments as the two glared at one another.

"Both of you stop it. All this is doing is giving Monokuma more to work with!" Jinsei insisted, trying to break the two up before tensions raised any further. The two backed off as the first drops of rain began to fall, the three of them making their way back inside. The rain began to pelt the academy walls and pitter-patter on the walls, creating long streaks of blurred green images of the plants outside.

(Faithwood Academy – Jinsei's room – Day 07 – 22:00)

"Dear Juchika

I can't help but feel the days are starting to get shorter. This academy has such a horrible effect on me, almost like its eating away at me. It's getting harder to keep a brave face in front of the others. I don't know how all of them can manage… I know some of them aren't.

Haruo came to me with a couple of interesting questions. I had always thought there was something off about him, but not quite in the way I had envisioned. His lack of confidence kept him so quiet during our time at the academy. I just hope he can open up to us more.

Furthermore… I find myself now with an unlikely and untrustworthy ally. The guard at the gate offering to help us. I don't know whether it's genuine or whether its another ploy by that bear to get at us. All I know for now is, he came to me specifically. Do I trust him?

I wish I could speak to you more. Your guidance would be a blessing in this academy. How do I manage this life in the academy and try to prevent another murder?

I'll just have to keep my guard up and try to keep tensions low… it'll be hard, but I must endeavor. I'll keep you in mind should I ever feel weak.

Kindest regards, Jinsei."

With his letter written, Jinsei turned in for the night, putting a chair against his door just in case someone got any ideas.


End file.
